


These Dreams

by taitofan



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Asphyxiation, Demon/Human Relationships, Desperation, Developing Relationship, Dreams, Familiars, M/M, Magical Vibrators, Masturbation, Minor Character Death, Non-Graphic Violence, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Pre-Relationship, Slash, Spanking, Tengu, Tentacle Sex, Time Skips, Watersports, Wetting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-12
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-02-20 22:58:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 19
Words: 56,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2446244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taitofan/pseuds/taitofan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Mabel spills a secret, Dipper ends up alone with Bill, facing an even more humiliating situation.  Now he's playing a dangerous game with the demon, and he doesn't want to stop it.  And that's good, because Bill plays for keeps.</p><p>(Or: The Misadventures of the Cipher Family)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

While there were many horrible, terrifying things in Gravity Falls, Dipper wasn’t sure that there was anything as truly horrific as the sight of his twin sister, thoroughly and utterly pissed off at him.

Mabel was subtly shaking, and Dipper could practically see the raging fire in her eyes.  Whatever she was about to do or say, he wasn’t going to like it.  She had too much blackmail material on him for the next few moments to be anything but absolutely humiliating.  His mind ran through potential outcomes, and though all were painful, they were things he could easily bounce back from.  Well, except maybe one.  But Mabel wouldn’t go _that_ far, right?  She was mad, sure, but not so mad as to tell everyone—

“Oh yeah?  Well at least I didn’t wet my bed until I was _eleven_.”

Or maybe she was.

“Woah, really?  Oh man, _Dipper_ , is that true?”

“That’s crazy, dude!”

He ignored Wendy and Soos—as well as Grunkle Stan’s obnoxiously loud laughter—as he was far too mortified to actually speak.  There were some secrets you just didn’t tell, and in his opinion, Mabel had just told the biggest one.  And in front of his former crush and his best friend too!  Sure, he’d been a jerk, but it wasn’t like he’d eaten Waddles or anything!

Dipper turned and ran from the room, trying to stop the familiar stinging behind his eyes.  No, humiliated or not, he wouldn’t cry.  Outside, he quickly climbed up the ladder to the roof and pressed himself against the building so no one would see him.  Not that it mattered; no one followed him.

 _‘Probably too busy laughing still_ ,’ he thought morosely, curling in on himself.

Still, he didn’t let the tears fall.  He wasn’t a child.

\---

Dipper hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep until he awoke with a jolt.  Even before he opened his eyes, he knew something was wrong.  He was… wet.  Very wet.  Panic filled his body at the thought that even at twelve-years-old, he’d just wet the bed.  No, no, no.  That couldn’t be right!

Then he thought about it a bit more rationally and realized, no.  No, that _wasn’t_ right.  He’d fallen asleep on the roof, not in the attic, and he was definitely in a bed.  In his normal clothes by the feel of it.  Slowly, he opened his eyes.  Everything was in grayscale…

 _Damn_.

“Come out you stupid demon,” he shouted, looking around his not-room, “I know you’re there!”

“Now now, Pine Tree, is that any way to talk to your old pal?”

The voice was unmistakable, as was the nickname.  Sure enough, the moment the words were said, Bill Cipher was floating a few feet from Dipper, the only other color in the grey mindscape.

“We aren’t pals,” Dipper ground out, his fists curling into the blankets.  The blankets that were still very wet.  Of course, realizing this wasn’t real, he was able to think the unpleasant sensation away.  That done, he focused back on the demon.  Nothing good would come of letting his guard down again.  “What do you want this time?  If you think you can trick me into taking my body again, you can go to—”

“Kid, you really need to learn to chill!”  Bill floated down until he was sitting on the foot of the bed, glancing at the blankets, right where the wet spot had been.  Bill probably would have been grinning if he’d had a mouth.  As it were, by the way his eye was crinkled, Dipper could tell that he found the situation amusing.  “I’m not here to make any deals.  I just wanted to chat with my favorite human!”

After everything that Dipper had read in the journals about how untrustworthy Bill was, that wasn’t a comforting thought.

“Really?” he questioned incredulously, not about to place his trust in the manipulative demon.  “Cause it seems more like you somehow know what Mabel told everyone, and you wanted to humiliate me even in my dreams.”

“ _Somehow_ knew?”  Bill laughed, not denying that was precisely why he’d shown up.  “I told you before, didn’t I?  I’m always watching you!”

Dipper paused, running the words over in his mind.  Always?  Surely, that was an exaggeration.  Keeping an eye on him, sure, but there was no way Bill could always be watching, powerful demon or not.

…Right?

“N-not _always_ , right?”

Bill reached out until he could pet Dipper’s foot through the blanket, in a mockery of comfort.  Dipper quickly pulled his foot away.

“If that helps you sleep at night, sure.”

It was said in such a flippant manner that Dipper couldn’t help but think that Bill was telling the truth.  Well, _that_ was beyond creepy.

“Look, just tell me what you want, so you can, I don’t know, leave me alone maybe?”  It occurred to him that perhaps being rude to a demon was a bad idea.  But the demon was _Bill_ , and somehow, despite all he knew about this particular demon, he didn’t feel the fear he knew he should.  It didn’t help that his irritation at his sister still had him short-tempered.

“Come on Pine Tree, I know you don’t _really_ want to get rid of me.  I know things about you that even _you_ don’t realize!”  Bill snapped his fingers, and the dream room melted away, leaving them in a grey void, just the two of them and nothing more.  “Besides, even if you think you want me gone, that’s just too bad!  You’re stuck with me until you give me what I want.”

Dipper’s eyes narrowed, both at Bill’s arrogance and the fact that he’d been right—Bill wanted more than just a friendly chat.  And it wasn’t hard to guess that whatever he wanted, Dipper wasn’t going to like it.

“And what exactly would that be?”  Bill just stared at him for a few moments, nothing about him betraying his thoughts.  Suddenly, his cane appeared in his hands, and— “Oof!  Ow, yeesh!  What the heck was that for, you stupid demon?”

Dipper rubbed at the spot where Bill had shoved his cane, right in his lower stomach.  Right about where…

Oh.  _Oh_.

Right about where his bladder was, if the sudden pain he felt, as if he needed to go _now_ , was any indication.

“You’re sick,” he muttered, trying to twist in a way that relieved some of the pressure.  It didn’t help.  “You really want revenge that bad?”

“Revenge,” Bill repeated, his voice not carrying the usual grandiosity it usually did.  The serious tone was perhaps the oddest thing that had happened thus far.  “Sure kid, if that’s what you want to think.  You’ll figure out the real reason eventually.  Maybe even today if you use that head of yours.”

Real reason?  What other reason could there be?  Why else would Bill want to see him wet his pants, unless it was to humiliate him even more?

He brushed the thoughts aside, knowing he had other things to worry about.  This was the mindscape, right?  So he could just will this away.  He concentrated on not needing to pee anymore, but much to his dismay, nothing happened.  Sure, Bill was stronger than him, but was his will to see Dipper lose control so strong that it trumped Dipper’s desire not to?

What the hell was Bill up to?

He doubled over with a groan as a wave of pain hit him.  Oh, there was no time!  He was gonna lose it soon!  He had to do something…

“W-what do you want?  There must be something you want more than _this_ …”

Bill’s eye crinkled in that way that indicated his amusement again, and Dipper had a terrible feeling that he wasn’t getting out of the situation dry.

“Sure, Pine Tree,” he agreed smoothly, “of course there is.  But I don’t think you’re ready to give me what I really want yet.  This will be a good taste to leave me satisfied until I can get the main course.”

Main course?  What the…?

Another wave of pain came from his bladder, and this time a few spurts came through, leaving a small wet patch on the front of his shorts.  Bill watched him intently, causing Dipper’s face to flush.  Had he ever been so embarrassed before?  He didn’t think so, and he’d certainly been in his fair share of embarrassing situations in his life.  And there was no way to stop it now, not if Bill wanted it to happen.

Not seeing the point in delaying the inevitable and giving Bill the satisfaction of drawing his suffering out, Dipper let go with a small cry.  Immediately, he felt the warm liquid flowing from his underwear, soaking his shorts and dripping down his legs until it pooled in his shoes.  For some reason, he couldn't stop himself from watching Bill as it happened.  The demon didn’t seem disgusted, or particularly gleeful about revenge.  No, he was watching Dipper with keen interest, somewhat akin to how intently Mabel watched cute boys.  But that wasn’t…  That _couldn’t_ …!

“Ah, looks like my fun is over!”  Dipper, though his bladder had still felt full moments ago, now felt himself trickle to a stop as Bill snapped his fingers.  “You’re starting to understand, Pine Tree.  You’ll be ready soon enough.”

“Ready?” Dipper repeated, suddenly feeling rather dazed.  Bill floated up to him, taking Dipper’s cheeks between his small hands.  He closed his eye and pressed himself against Dipper’s face—Dipper’s lips hit right above Bill’s bowtie.  Right about, Dipper realized, where a mouth would be if he had one.  His face flushed again at the thought.

“Don’t worry about it now kid,” he continued as he pulled away.  “I’ve got all the time in the world, and I don’t think you’ll need much more waiting anyway.  In fact…  I think it won’t be much longer before we meet again, my little Pine Tree!”

The last thing Dipper saw before his eyes became too heavy to keep open was the sight of Bill, and the promise of something Dipper only vaguely understood in his gaze.

\---

Dipper awoke with a cry, jumping so hard that he smacked the back of his head against the shack.  Quickly looking around, he saw that he was still on the roof, everything was in color, and it was now nighttime.  Also, he was thankfully completely dry.

Bill was nowhere in sight, but Dipper no longer was sure that he was ever truly alone.  If Bill had been insinuating what Dipper _thought_ he was…  Well, he supposed that would explain why the demon was so intent on watching him.

It was still very creepy.

But, Dipper thought as he gazed up at the starry sky, not tired in the least, he found that the thought didn’t scare him.  It didn’t really bother him much at all, actually.  Maybe he kind of liked the idea of someone wanting _him_ for once, even if it was a male demon.  Maybe, deep down, he really _did_ trust Bill not to hurt him beyond repair…

And that, he knew, was the _really_ scary part.


	2. Chapter 2

Dipper did his best to forget that anything had ever happened with Bill.  It wasn’t too hard—not with Mabel still irritated with him.  She wasn’t one to hold grudges, but then again, he’d never ribbed on her quite as harshly as he had that fateful afternoon, five days prior.  For that reason, he wasn’t upset with what she’d told everyone.  They’d all thankfully let it go, letting him focus on getting Mabel to speak to him again.

“Mabel, please talk to me.”

The girl was utterly silent, and she didn’t even look Dipper’s way.  If she hadn’t briefly paused the little dance she was making Waddles do, he would have thought she hadn’t even heard him.

“Look Mabel, you took those things I said about you and Pacifica the wrong way, okay?  Now will you please just—”

“Did you hear something, Waddles?” Mabel’s voice ran out loudly.  A bit louder than it probably needed to be, in fact.  “Because I could have sworn that I heard a big mean jerk _still not apologize_.”

Dipper sighed and gave up for the night.  It was late, he was tired, and Mabel still didn’t want to listen to him.  He hadn’t meant to insult Mabel, he really hadn’t!  But he didn’t see why he should apologize when he hadn’t said anything false.  Pacifica’s sudden interest in his sister _was_ awfully suspicious…

Deciding to forget about the whole thing until the morning, Dipper turned to face the wall, drew the covers over himself, and closed his eyes.

\---

Dipper opened his eyes, and he immediately knew that something was wrong.  Everything was too grey for a certain demon not to be around.  Memories of their last meeting flitted through Dipper’s head—he was at least relieved that he was completely dry, but would the depraved demon force him to do it again?

_‘It wasn’t exactly forced_ ,’ came the unbidden thought.  ‘ _I didn’t try very hard to stop it, and I didn’t even try to get away at all_.’

“No, you didn’t!  Why, I’d say you’re warming up to me, Pine Tree!”

Dipper sat up in the dream bed, calling out the demon’s name as he looked around.  Bill, however, was nowhere to be seen.  Slowly, Dipper pushed away the blankets and got out of bed.  He was always so amazed at how real his dreams seemed when Bill was involved.  If everything wasn’t grey and if he weren’t alone in the room, he’d think he was awake.

“What do you want this time?”

With absolutely no fanfare, Bill popped into view, mere inches before Dipper.  If he was upset that Dipper didn’t respond to him, he gave no indication of it.  No, he just had that same amused air about him.  Dipper wanted to be irritated—he’d spent _days_ trying to convince himself he should be upset with Bill for their last encounter—but mostly he was just curious.

“Oh, you know,” Bill summoned his cane, only to twirl it around lazily.  Dipper watched it cautiously, but Bill made no move to jab him with it.  “I was watching you as usual, and something hit me…”

“So you really _do_ watch me all the time?”  Bill chuckled, and Dipper tried to think of any embarrassing things he’d done in the past few days.  Thankfully, nothing _too_ terrible came to mind.  Well, aside from things like going to the bathroom.  Of course, Bill had watched him wet his pants, and that was far worse than going in a toilet, in his opinion.

“Why wouldn’t I, when you’re the most interesting thing around?”  The thought that a dream demon found him to be the most fascinating thing when the whole town was full of supernatural occurrences brought a flush to his face.  “Anyway, the point is, I’ve noticed there’s something that you _don’t_ do, but most silly meat puppets your age _do_.  I mean, I know you’re all hung up on solving your little mysteries, but it seemed pretty weird that you never ever touch yourself!”

It took Dipper a moment, but when it finally hit him, his pink cheeks rapidly evolved into a fully red face.

“W-what?  Bill, why would you—?”

“I think you know why!”  Bill laughed as he snapped his fingers, and much to Dipper’s shock, he was suddenly naked.  He tried to cover himself the best he could, only for Bill to make a sound of disapproval.  “Now, now Pine Tree, I wouldn’t bother if I were you.  Either you can let me look, or I can bind your hands.  Take your pick.”

Horror filled Dipper, but not at the warning.  No, because he found that he _wanted_ Bill to carry out the threat.  The thought of Bill magically tying him up swept through his mind.  Where had _that_ come from?  Since when was this something that he found appealing?

“Oh, do you _want_ to be tied up?  Well kid, I think I could arrange that…”  Dipper braced himself—while thoroughly berating himself for forgetting that Bill could sense what he was thinking when they were like this—but Bill did nothing except continue to twirl his cane.  “But not today.  Maybe you’ll be ready next time, but today I just want to see one thing.  And lucky me, I’ve gotten you hard enough to show me!”

The fact that imagining Bill tying him up had aroused him wasn’t news to Dipper, but his hands were still covering himself.  How had Bill known…?

“You’re in _my_ territory, Pine Tree,” Bill added helpfully, and perhaps a touch too gleefully.  “I can sense a lot more here than you can hide.  For example, I know right now you’re wondering what I’ll do if you don’t give me a show.  And the answer to that is easy—I’ll make you!”

The heavy feeling of magic spun around Dipper’s body, and soon his hands were away from their previous positions, though only one actually moved away.  The other gripped his hardening cock and slowly squeezed.  Dipper moaned at the feeling that shot through him.  Bill was making him touch himself…  And it was arousing him!  Dipper, who had barely gotten hard for any reason since puberty hit, was getting off because a demon was making him masturbate.  What was wrong with him?

A lot, apparently, but it was getting harder to think as Bill continued to work his magic.

“Tell me kid, did you do this before you came here?  Or were you just, well, too much of a kid?”  Dipper wanted to snap that he wasn’t a kid, but all that came out was a ragged moan.  “No, no, don’t bother answering.  I already know the answer.  You’ve only touched yourself a few times before this summer, right?  Because you woke up hard for no reason and you were curious?  Oh Pine Tree, you innocent little thing you.”

Dipper, despite the haze over his mind, heard Bill’s words clearly, and he couldn’t deny them.  He’d never touched himself while thinking of another.  Even with as much as he’d liked Wendy, he’d never felt the urge to do so.  And here he was, getting jerked off by his own magically assisted hand, a smug as hell demon before him.

And he was so painfully hard, and Bill was making him go so _slow_ —

“Hmm, you know, I think you can handle it from here.”

The magical force slipped away, and immediately Dipper began to move his hand faster.  Yes, yes, that was much better.  This felt so much nicer than the times he’d done it before.  He moaned loudly and more frequently, and though his eyes threatened to slip shut, he found himself forcing them open.  Bill wanted this show, right?  Well, if he had to give it, he might as well make sure it was enjoyed, shouldn’t he?

And oh, Bill certainly looked pleased.  His one eye was watching him intently, and he’d stopped twirling his cane and was instead gripping it tightly.  And maybe he was getting caught up in the moment, but he could swear he felt an aura of lust emanating from the demon.

“B-Bill…”

The demon groaned at the sound of his name, filling Dipper with confidence.  He was making Bill Cipher, a demon, come apart.  How intoxicating!  He gasped out Bill’s name over and over as pleasure coiled in his groin.  _Soon_.  Soon he was gonna…

“Oh Pine Tree, you’ll be ready next time for sure.  Now, hurry up and come for me.”

That was all it took for Dipper to see stars.

“ _Bill_!”

\---

Dipper awoke just as the last time he’d left Bill and the mindscape—with a knock to the head.  He rubbed the spot where he’d bashed the back of his head and panted.  That had been…. Intense.  And probably really dumb on his part, actually.  Why had he given in to Bill’s game so quickly?  Why had he felt as if he needed the demon’s approval?  Stupid Bill.  Stupid dreams.  Stupid…

Wait, were his pajama pants sticky…?

_Stupid puberty_.

As quietly as he could, Dipper climbed out of bed to change his clothes.  The night was still young, and there was no way he was wearing the soiled clothing until morning.  Morning, when someone could see him.  No way, _not happening_.  Everyone would tease him mercilessly, probably thinking he’d dreamt of Wendy.

At least that would be better than anyone knowing he’d touched himself in his mindscape at Bill’s request.  That he’d wanted Bill to enjoy what he’d saw.  That he’d come at Bill’s request.  No, he was pretty sure he’d rather die than ever admit any of that.

Soon, Dipper was back in bed, closing his eyes and quickly falling back asleep.

There was no more Bill that night, but Dipper knew that the next time they met, there would be no more waiting.  After all, Bill had deemed him _ready_.  And after that night, he had no more doubts as to what Bill had in mind.

\---

The following morning, Mabel was still ignoring Dipper.  And yet, it seemed very different to him.  Before, she would at least make it obvious she was doing it because she was mad, but now…  Now she seemed almost nervous even to look at him.  Loving a good mystery, Dipper was determined to get to the bottom of her odd behavior.

“Mabel?”  She squeaked and jumped a little as he snuck up behind her, and he almost jumped himself when she spun around and glared at him.

“You!”  He flinched at her volume, but at least she was actually speaking to him.  “I can’t believe you’d be such a dumb butt over _Pacifica_ when you and Bill are—”

“Woah, wait!” he interrupted, holding out his hands in a vain attempt to get her to lower the volume.  “What are you talking about?”

Mabel’s face still clearly showed her irritation with him, though he could now see that her cheeks were flushed a deep shade of red as well.  A terrifying thought popped into his mind, and he almost wished that Mabel would never speak to him again as long as he was wrong about it.

“I heard you last night.”  Well, _shit_.  “You kept moaning Bill’s name in your sleep, and it was _pretty gross_ to hear my _brother_ having a sexy dream about his demon boyfriend!”

“He’s not my boyfriend!”  Mabel merely rolled her eyes at his defensive declaration.

“You aren’t denying anything else I said, _are you_?”

…Double shit.

“It’s not what you think,” he tried again, hoping maybe he could leave this conversation with at least a little of his dignity intact.  “Bill came into my dreams again.  I didn’t want to—”

“You and your dumb excuses.”  Mabel now sounded honestly fed up, and he knew very well just how hard it was to bring his sister’s usually cheery mood down this badly.  He couldn’t really blame her either, considering that he’d just been about to lie to her face.  She really didn’t need to know that though. “You still don’t get it!  Yeah, Pacifica can be a big jerkhead, but she’s trying.  Bill is…  He almost…”

He knew full well what Bill had done, and what the demon was capable of doing.  He knew that what was happening in his dreams was a dangerous game he played.  And yet, he felt a defensive wave wash over him when Mabel said it.

“Look, don’t worry about Bill, okay?  I can handle this.”  Though honestly, he didn’t really believe that.  Mabel’s expression told him that she didn’t either.  “Let’s just forget everything, okay?”

Mabel’s eyes told Dipper everything he needed to know—she was beyond anger and irritation.  Now she felt something even worse.  Something Dipper had always hated seeing more than anything else…

Disappointment.

“You really _don’t_ understand, do you?  You don’t know why I’m mad at all…  Well, fine, be a big butthead.  See if I care!”

Dipper didn’t follow her as she ran off.  He didn’t see the point.  Until he figured out whatever the real issue was, she wasn’t going to forgive him.  And now, all he knew was that it had to do with what he’d said about Pacifica, and his… _dream_ with Bill made him a hypocrite.  But what did…?

 Wait.  He’d called Pacifica’s interest in Mabel suspicious…  And Mabel had called Bill his boyfriend…  Were Mabel and Pacifica…?

He took off after Mabel, suddenly knowing what he had to do.

“Mabel, wait!”  He only had a vague idea of the direction she had taken off in, but after a few moments, he caught sight of her far-too-bright-and-sparkly sweater hide behind a tree.  He almost laughed at how badly she was hiding; it was obvious that she really _did_ want to talk to him.  He wisely did no such thing though, knowing that upsetting her more was the last thing he wanted at that moment.

“Mabel,” he called out once more.  She didn’t reply.  He sighed and walked behind the tree, almost groaning when he saw that she’d hidden her head in her sweater.   He knelt and gently tugged it back down, trying to offer her a smile when their eyes met.  It was sheepish, at best.  After a few moments, she huffed and looked away.  “I…  I think I understand.  You, uh, you like Pacifica.  And she likes you.  And you’re mad, because you think I was against that, and that the dream Bill gave me made me a hypocrite.”

“Oh, so it’s all _Bill’s_ fault you have loud gross dreams.  Is that right?”  Her tone was as sharp as the glare she gave him.  He flinched and was pretty sure his gulp was audible.  “Even if Bill was in your dream, you still _musta_ liked it with how loud you were.  I mean, you never even had gross dreams about Wendy, and you said you loved her.  So unless Bill was forcing you…”

Part of Dipper honestly wished that was the case.

“…Mabel,” he began, knowing that he really _did_ owe his sister an apology, “you’re right—”

“Of course I am!”

“—and what I said to you was wrong.  I’m sorry.  If you and Pacifica like each other, then that’s… great.  She just better not be a jerk or I’ll steal your grappling hook and—”

“Says the guy who’s boyfriend is a demon who tried to steal his body!”

“He’s not my—” Dipper paused, and rubbed his nose, knowing that it was futile.  She might think—rightly, he supposed—that his audible dreams were gross, but when it came to the most chaste part of relationships, Mabel cared more about his love life then her own sometimes.  “I’m not really sure what’s going on with Bill, but don’t worry about it, okay?  Just be careful.”

“Sure, sure,” she chirped, a familiar metallic grin firmly back in place.  “But I gotta know, is this gonna happen a lot?  Cause if you’re gonna be all loud every night, I think maybe you should go sleep in Soos’s break room after all…”

Mabel laughed and ran off, leaving Dipper groaning pitifully.  He wasn’t going to live this one down anytime soon.

Stupid demon.

But mostly, stupid _him_ , for not being able to resist Bill in the first place.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a very long, very nerve-wracking week as Dipper awaited that familiar grey dreamscape.  Every night, he wondered if Bill would finally show up, finally show Dipper what his motives were…  And every morning, he awoke frustrated that nothing had happened.  He was putting up with Mabel’s suggestive comments about him missing his “boyfriend” for nothing—as if Bill would ever even agree to such a silly word, even if the notion had been apt—and it simply had to stop!

On the plus side, he was getting plenty of sleep lately.  Part of him wondered if this was all some elaborate plan on Bill’s part to get him to stop investigating the secrets of Gravity Falls, though he brushed the thought aside as ridiculous.  Bill was a powerful demon, and there was no way that _seducing_ him was the most efficient way to stop him.

…Though he had to admit that it would be an effective plan.  Dipper was quite sure that he was thoroughly seduced, as bad of an idea as that was.

“Night brobro!” Mabel’s voice called out through the darkened room as they both settled in for the night.  Dipper’s hands were itching to grab the journal and read through it, but a much bigger part of him thought no, tonight could be the night.  Bill was the mystery he wanted to solve the most at the moment, so he would sleep.

As he closed his eyes, a rogue thought ran through his mind— _Please let Bill come tonight_.

\---

Dipper woke up slowly, and he didn’t even need to open his eyes to know his surroundings would be grey, grey, and more grey.  The only time he ever woke up peacefully in bed seemed to be when he hadn’t _really_ woken up.

“Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?”

Dipper yelped as he felt everything around him disappear.  His eyes opened to see himself in a plain void, nothing but a smug little demon for as far as he could see.  His heart beat rapidly in his chest.  This was what he wanted, true, but there was still that niggling little fear of the unknown reminding him that he didn’t actually know what Bill was up to.  He had a very good guess, yes, but surely there was more to this than _that_.  But what…?

“First off, I’d say you’re overdressed for the occasion.  What do you think?”  Dipper waited for his clothes to magically disappear, but much to his surprise, Bill merely looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer.  Was…  Was he getting a say in this?  If he said no, would the inevitable conclusion of the night not happen after all?  Was Bill Cipher of all demons, really giving him the opportunity to back out?

“…Yeah, I guess I am.”

“Then chop chop kid, we don’t have all night!” he exclaimed, waving his cane around in a “hurry up” motion.  “You’ll wake up eventually!”

“You want me to…”  He didn’t need to finish that.  Bill’s unimpressed expression said it all.  “Right, of course.  I’ll, uh, I’ll do that…”

It occurred to him, as he hastily pulled his clothes off, that he was playing with fire.  It seemed inevitable that he was going to get burned.

He didn’t care.

“Not that I haven’t seen it all before, but I gotta say, not bad!  You’ll be a heartbreaker in ten years!”  It was really amazing how someone without a mouth and only one eye could leer.  “Of course, that means I’ll have to literally break some hearts if anyone touches what belongs to _me_.  You ever held a beating heart in your hand as it stops?  Feels _great_.”

He was quite sure Bill knew that he _hadn’t_ , so he ignored that.

“I don’t remember saying that I belong to you…”

“I’m working on that.  In fact,” his cane disappeared and he snapped his fingers, “let’s start right now!”

Dipper hadn’t known what to expect, not _really_.  He’d assumed sex would be involved, but he hadn’t known _how_.  Toys?  Bill’s cane?  He was actually a little embarrassed that tentacles hadn’t even crossed his mind.

The tentacles were surely made of magic—they were warm and pulsing and wiggled as if they had a life of their own.  Did they?  Dipper had no way of knowing, and with how quickly they were restraining his limbs and brushing against every sensitive area they could find, he didn’t suspect he was going to get the chance to ask.

“You look surprised.”  Bill’s tone was a bit too nonchalant than Dipper felt this situation warranted. Was watching humans get felt up by tentacles a common sight to a demon?  “Funny, I thought you’d appreciate my methods a little more.”

“Why would I—”

He was cut off as a tentacle slipped in his open mouth, nearly gagging him.  He glared at Bill, who only gave him a pleased look.  Getting the hint, he began to suckle the appendage.  It was warm and slimy, but thankfully tasteless.  He wasn’t very keen on tasting magical slime, dreamscape or not.

“Good boy,” Bill cooed, not once moving from the spot he’d started in.  Dipper found it a little odd that Bill had yet to touch him himself, but he wasn’t able to think much on it when Bill’s eye crinkled, and there was suddenly a tentacle wrapping around his penis.

He moaned at the novel sensation.  For as good as it felt when Bill magical made him jerk off, it was nothing compared to this feeling.  The pressure, the heat, the throbbing—it was amazing.  And it was pushing his young body to its limit.  If he hadn’t been in such a lewd position he might have felt self-conscious at the fact he never seemed to last long when Bill was involved.  But hey, who was he to fight against magical sex with a demon?

“Now Pine Tree, before we finish here, I have a little deal for you…”  Even as close as he was, warning bells went off in Dipper’s head.  The last “deal” they had ended in a trip to the hospital.  “Oh, don’t worry your pretty little head, kid!  It doesn’t involve me taking over your body at all!”

“W-what then?” he gasped out as one of the tentacles moved just so.

“Look, I’m stuck in the mindscape unless I have a body, but there is one teeny tiny little way around that.  Thing is, none of you meat bags seem to want to be bound to a demon for all eternity!  Imagine that!  _But_ …”  He floated closer, bringing his small hands to rest on Dipper’s cheeks.  Feeling Bill’s actual touch almost drove him to the edge.  “I like you Pine Tree, and trust me, that doesn’t happen a whole lot.  Just say that you’ll be mine, and I’ll be yours.  I can protect you, and you can solve your little mysteries until the sun explodes.”

“Wha—?  Ah!”  A tentacle prodded at his anus, the very tip teasing the entrance.  Dipper shuttered, and he was having a hard time thinking of why Bill’s deal was a bad one.  Surely, it had to be.  The journals said not to trust him…  But didn’t he already trust Bill?  At least a little?  He didn’t know a whole lot about binding demons, but he’d have some semblance of control, right?  And this…  _All of this_ …  “P-promise you won’t hurt my family o-or my friends.”

“I promise I won’t hurt them if they don’t try to harm me first.”  Dipper nodded, his voice beginning to fail him.  This was getting to be too much…!  “Then, do we have a deal?”

“You h-have to promise not to…  Aah!  Not to d-destroy the journals either.”  Bill rolled his eye, but no matter how hazed his mind was, Dipper knew that if he didn’t specify things, Bill would exploit his carelessness sooner or later.

“Fine, fine, I promise!  Now, deal or no deal?”  He held out his hand, and Dipper reached out shakily for it.  Just as their hands touched, the probing tentacle entered him, immediately reaching a spot that made him cry out.  “Come on Pine Tree, better say it!”

“D-deal!”  He choked out, crying as the tentacle mercilessly rubbed his prostate, the others wrapped around his cock and wiggling around any bit of flesh they could reach.  He only vaguely noticed the blue flames that engulfed his and Bill’s enjoined hands.  Soon the stimulation became too much, and he came, sobbing out Bill’s name.

His hand fell limply from Bill’s, and the tentacles moved themselves from their previous task to support his spent body.  Once he’d caught his breath and could form a coherent thought, he looked up at Bill.  Much to his surprise, Bill’s body had a pinkish hue to it, and he seemed to be worn out.  Not as much as Dipper was, but tired all the same.  But why…?

“I told you, kid,” Bill began, his tone confirming that he wasn’t in peak condition, “being bound means you’re mine and I’m yours.  Our lives are _bound_ , you know, like the name suggests?  And boy, kid, I made you come so hard _I_ felt it!  Am I good or what?”

Dipper chose to ignore that question.  Besides, if Bill knew what he was thinking in the mindscape, then he already knew the answer to that.

“Our lives…  So if one of us dies, the other will too?   And you’re so sure that you can keep me safe that you’re willing to bind your life to mine just to exist outside of the mindscape?”

“Got it in one!”  Bill straightened up and his cane popped back into existence, and he once again began to twirl it.  Moments later, the tentacle slowly melted away into the ether, leaving Dipper floating in the nothingness.  He’d gotten enough strength back to stay upright, just as Bill had.  So their physical strengths were now linked even in the mindscape…

“…But if I can’t die unless _you_ do…”

“That’s right, kid!” Bill cheered, throwing his arms into the air, monochrome confetti appearing out of nowhere.  “Welcome to immortality!  Enjoy your stay until the universe collapses upon itself!”

_Immortality_?  Bill could have mentioned that before!  But Dipper was in no state to get angry, not in the mindscape.  Not when what was done, was done.  And honestly, he wasn’t really mad, just very irritated, as this was surely a sign of things to come.  He didn’t expect that Bill would ever stop keeping him in the dark about things until it was too late, but he could certainly wish.

“Well, there goes any chance at a normal life.”  He realized how silly that sounded when he was still naked and had been supported by come-coated tentacles a mere minute prior.

“Come on,” Bill scoffed, “as if you wanted a _normal_ life.  What’s that even mean, anyway?  Get married, have kids?  I bet I could make us a little demon brat some day if you really want one.  Anything for my…  Hmm, what would you meat sacks call it?  My child bride?”

“ _Bride_?!”  Dipper froze at the word choice.  Oh no.  No, no, no!  He was not going to let Bill go around calling him that.  He’d never hear the end of it!  “Bill, _no_ , I—”

“Come on Pine Tree, let’s go tell Stanford _right now_.”

“Bill, _no_!”

Deep down, he knew he wouldn’t win this argument.  But damn if he wasn’t going to _try_.  Unfortunately, Bill didn’t look at all concerned that Dipper was agitated.

“I’ll show you the secret tribe of siren warriors who live in the mountains for a honeymoon present.”

“No, I— _wait_.”  At that, Dipper knew he’d lost.  And that he’d be losing petty arguments until there were no more paranormal or mythical creatures left in the world.  Bill knew what made him tick too well.  “Sirens?  Really?  I read about those in the journal…  You’ll show me more mysteries?”

“Of course, kid.  Look, it’s not gonna be very fun for _me_ if _you’re_ depressed, now will it?”  Dipper hadn’t thought about it that way, but it made sense that emotional bonds went with physical and mental ones.  “All you gotta do it wake up, and I’ll show you how great having a demon on your side is.”

“I can’t just force myself—”

“But I can!”  He readied his cane like a baseball bat, and Dipper could swear Bill was smirking, lack of mouth or not.  “See you in the waking world, Pine Tree!”


	4. Chapter 4

While Dipper was very glad that his head was uninjured for the first time since his stints in the mindscape began, he was quickly reminded that he was not the only one to sleep in the attic, and he’d been _very_ loud in his dream.  If even a fraction of that came through in reality, Mabel was going to—

Or perhaps Mabel would be sound asleep, snoring softly.

…He honestly hadn’t expected that.

“Don’t worry, she won’t remember a thing.”  It took Dipper a moment to adjust himself to the sight of Bill surrounded by color, but he quickly shook the novelty aside and shot Bill a confused look.

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, you really should have seen Shooting Star’s face when I first popped in here!  Seriously, I would have killed a small country for a camera!”  Dipper was rather impressed that he hadn’t done just that.  “As cute as it is to see you get all flustered when she calls me your boyfriend, I’m afraid this simply won’t do.  So I, you know, suppressed her memories of everything involving me since the whole possession incident.”

Dipper was out of his bed and standing defiantly before Bill in record time.  Bill didn’t look in the least bit concerned.

“You said you wouldn’t hurt her!”

“And I _didn’t_ ,” he stressed, flippantly waving him off.  “I didn’t even erase her memories, I just locked them away for a while.”

“Well, why would you—”

“Look kid,” he cut off, suddenly looking a lot more serious, “the hardest part of all this will be the very beginning, while this bond is still new and as fragile as your meaty little body.  If Shooting Star says the wrong thing around the wrong person, everything could go wrong faster than you would realize you were dead.  So no one can know about this until I have time to make sure you can defend yourself if _I_ can’t keep you safe.  The last thing we need is for some pissy little demon deciding they want revenge against _me_ by killing _you_.  Understand?”

Dipper wasn’t sure he’d ever seen or heard Bill sound so sincere.  Of course, considering his life was on the line if anything happened to Dipper, it wasn’t that much of a surprise.  Self-preservation was going to be Bill’s top priority now that he had same stake in his own mortality.

“Y-yeah, okay,” he agreed, not wanting to start things off by angering Bill, “that make sense.”

“I knew you’d see it my way!”  Just like that, Bill’s normal attitude was firmly back in place.  The mental whiplash it gave was almost impressive.  “I mean, I wouldn’t bind myself to a _stupid_ human or anything.  Now, let’s see…  If we start your training right away, I’d say well be good to go in…  Ten years.”

“ _Ten years_?” Dipper sputtered.  Did Bill not realize how long that was?  Had living so long distorted his perception of time?  “I’ll be in college by then!”

“Oh, you humans and your skewed priorities,” he tutted, petting Dipper’s head in what was possibly the most patronizing manner possible.  Dipper didn’t bother not to scowl up at him.  “Pine Tree, you are bound to a _demon_.  You have exactly an _eternity_ to learn useless things.  First, we need to build up that latent magic you have flowing in your puny little body.  Add what you get from our bond and you’ll be up to speed before you know it!”

“Wait, hold up!” He ran the words through his head a few more times, making sure he hadn’t misunderstood Bill.  “Did you say, latent magic?  Like, in _me_?”

“Oh, did I forget to mention that?”  The amount of apology in his voice was approximately zero percent.  “You’ve got some talent in you, kid.  I mean, whether I like you or not, do you really think I’d agree to this if you weren’t capable of something more than being a useless sack of flesh?”

No, he supposed that would have been suicide.  Still, this was the first he’d heard of having anything _magical_ about him.  Just what did that consist of?  Dream magic like Bill, or something more?

“Couldn’t tell you!  We’ll have to work on that and find out.  I just know it’s hiding in you.”

He really wished Bill wouldn’t do that.

“Too bad!”

Dipper sighed, wondering how long it was going to take to get used to this.  And how long it would take before he could block Bill’s prying mind.  Maybe he could even do the same to Bill one day…?  Oddly enough, Bill decided not to answer those unspoken questions.

“So…  What?  You’re going to kidnap me or something?”

“Kidnapping?”  Bill laughed, and it was amazing that the entire town wasn’t awake with how loud and obnoxious he was about it.  “Dramatic much?  You’ll just be taking a little decade long vacation.  I’ll even let you play ‘ _normal’_ for the rest of the summer.  When I’m sure you won’t get yourself killed, I’ll even let you see your family for a bit.”

“Do I have a choice in this?” he grumbled, glancing over to Mabel’s magically induced sleeping form.  Well, at least Bill wasn’t loud enough to break his own magical spells.

“No, not really.”  Dipper flinched at the blunt answer, and Bill sighed exasperatedly.  “Pine Tree, what did you _think_ would happen?”

“I don’t know!” he admitted, feeling just as Bill sounded.  He wasn’t even sure if these were actually his feelings or if Bill’s were bleeding through this bond of theirs.  He really wasn’t even sure of the details yet.  “You sprang it on me while we were…  Um…”

Bill snickered and poked his cheek.  It seemed rather affectionate, and it certainly didn’t help Dipper’s quickly reddening face.

“ _Now_ you’re shy?”

“S-shut up!  I don’t…  I don’t know _what_ I was thinking.  Not a lot I guess.  I just knew… that I didn’t want to be away from you.”

“And you _won’t_.”

Dipper took a deep breath, wishing he could tell what Bill was thinking.  This demon had called him his _bride_ , swore to protect him, but what were his real reasons?  Was spiriting him away to who-knew-where really necessary?  Was there not better human to be bound to out there? Why him?  Why now?  What was Bill even capable of feeling for him?

“I know, but…  I’m going to live for as long as you do, but what about my family?”

“I said you can visit them if you make enough progress,” Bill reminded.  Dipper wondered if he was ignoring his mental questions now, or if Bill just wasn’t prying into his thoughts for the time being. “Remember, I’m not going to be very happy if you get depressed.  And hey, just think about how funny Shooting Star’s face will be when you see her in three years, popping out of thin air as a gangly teenager!  I’ll make sure I have a camera then.”

“Teenager?”  He looked down at his preteen body for a moment.  “I’ll still age?”

“Well yeah, that’s what happens to kids when the cruel hands of time rub all over them.  Don’t give me that look, kid.”  Dipper couldn’t exactly help but wonder if Bill had worded his example like that on purpose or not.  Time certainly wasn’t the only thing rubbing him lately.  “Anyway!  You didn’t think immortality meant you’d look like that forever, did you?”

“How should I know?”  He threw his hands up in the air, getting more than a bit fed up with Bill assuming—for no good reason—that Dipper would just inherently know any of these things.  “…But for the record, how _does_ that work?”  Bill rolled his eye, and though it occurred to Dipper that maybe he shouldn’t be so short with a demon—bound to him or not—Bill luckily seemed to be in a good mood.

“You’ll age normally until you have enough power and control to look as old as you want to look.  Trust me, glamour is an important thing to master if you want to blend in with humans.”

It sounded simple enough, he supposed.  He’d even read about glamour in the journals—the magical cloaks that made magical creatures fit in with their surroundings.  Once Bill taught him how to, if he wanted to look older, he could.  If he still wanted to look twelve in fifty years, he could.  Hell, if he wanted to look like a big dumb triangle demon, well, he _wouldn’t_ , but he could!

Then something hit him.

“So could you—”

“Stop right there, Pine Tree.”  He held up a hand, his face showing his clear dislike of the subject.  “It’s not a matter if I _could_.  It’s a fact that I won’t even attempt it.  Fleshbags don’t suit me anyway.”

“Oh.”  He laughed nervously; he hoped Bill hadn’t gotten the wrong idea.  “I mean, that’s fine!  I don’t mind or anything, I just thought that, you know, some things might be easier if you had…”

“Human anatomy?” he supplied when Dipper trailed off.

“Y-yeah, _that_.”  He looked down at his feet, not wanting to start anything.  Not here, not now.  And giving Bill an inch in these situations kept seeing the demon take a mile.

“Trust me kid,” Bill chuckled, floating close enough to reach out with his cane and lift Dipper’s chin up.  “I don’t need a cock to keep you satisfied for an eternity.”

“B-Bill!”

Bill cackled as he floated backwards, not an ounce of shame coming from him.  Dipper wasn’t sure that the word was even in his vocabulary.

“You’re really cute when you blush, you know?  Keep that up and I’ll won’t be able to wait to have a taste of you…”

“No way mister.”  Dipper crossed his arms; if trying to ignore the situation wouldn’t work, he’d just have to be assertive.  At least, as much as he could against a demon.  “I don’t care if she’s under a spell—Mabel is still here, and I’m not doing anything with my twin sister around!”

“If that’s how you want it…”  Bill backed off a little too easily for Dipper to let his guard down.  He didn’t know exactly what Bill was capable of in the real world, but he didn’t want to risk more tentacles popping up out of the void and catching him unaware.  “Fine!  I’ll wake her up and go make sure everything is set up on the mountain.  I’ll get you tonight, so think up a good excuse for your family.  You’ve only got a few more weeks with them, after all!”

A few more weeks.  Then he’d be gone for a very long time…  Away from Mabel, and Grunkle Stan, and his parents…

Well, maybe not all of that was bad.

“Right…”

“Don’t look so down!  This will all be worth it, I promise.  And here’s your first lesson—demons don’t break their promises.”  At Dipper’s incredulous look, he continued.  “It’s true!  We may twist things and find loopholes, but get solid enough wording, and you’re golden.  Contracts are very binding, even verbal ones.  And I _promise_ you Pine Tree, I’m going to make sure you don’t regret this deal.  You just need to trust me.”

If Bill could be trusted, then that was certainly a relief.  That was the thing though— _could_ Bill be trusted?  It was a dangerous thing to do, but…

“I’m pretty sure I’m past the point where I can’t _not_ trust you.”

“I knew you were a fast learner.”  He reached out and patted Dipper’s head again.  “Now then, I’ll see you tonight!”

Dipper sighed as Bill popped out of existence.  He added teleportation to a mental list of powers he knew Bill had in the real world.  How much would Bill be able to teach him…?

Suddenly, a sharp pain hit his ass.

“Ah!  What the—” He whipped around, seeing Bill floating there, gripping his cane tightly.  “What the heck was that for?”

“Just a taste of what will come if you try anything funny!”  He tapped the cane into his open hand.  “Besides, no matter what, you could probably use a good spanking!”

Then he was gone again, his laughter echoing in the room.  Dipper flushed at the thought; everything they’d done so far had been in his dreamscape, but now that Bill was in the real world, things would eventually happen to his actual body too…

“Hnn…  Brobro?”  Mabel slowly sat up from her bed, rubbing her eyes.  Dipper was relieved to see that she looked okay; the fact that she was a welcome distraction helped too.  “What time is it…?”

Dipper fought the urge to run over and hug her.  He couldn’t arouse her suspicion.  Not when he didn’t know what he was going to tell her yet.  It couldn’t be the truth, but he didn’t want to leave her for so long without a single word.  There was no way she’d accept him leaving for ten years, minimum.  She wasn’t going to let him leave for ten days!  And as much as he wanted to see what was going on with Bill and this magic that was apparently within him, he didn’t want to leave her either.

Suddenly, a terrible thought hit him.  He was immortal.

Mabel was not.

Mabel was looking at him, worry in her eyes, but he could say anything with the icy feelings that covered him.  A life without Mabel?  No…  _No_!  He wouldn’t allow it!

He’d probably made a big mistake, but it no longer mattered.  Even if Bill was lying and using him, it didn’t matter.  He had to learn all the magic Bill could teach him.  He needed to be strong.

If he was going to live forever, so was Mabel.  He’d make sure of it.

“Dipper, what’s wrong with you?  Are you sick?”  He finally focused on her, watching as she hugged Waddles close, as if she was afraid for him.

“I’m fine,” he laughed, a little too loud, a little too forced.  He couldn’t tell her yet.  “Hey, let’s…  Let’s go ask Grunkle Stan if we can go get pancakes at the diner for breakfast!”

At the prospect of diner pancakes, Mabel’s eyes lit up and she leapt from her bed, chanting “ _Pan-cakes, pan-cakes_!” as she raced downstairs, Waddles not far behind.  Dipper sighed and slowly followed.  He might have distracted her for now, but he knew that he was going to have to think of something before the summer was up.

But _what_?

\---

“What did you think?”

Dipper thought he could have just died of happiness.  Sirens!  Real sirens!  With wings and hypnotic voices, not those mermaid lookalikes most people seemed to think of.  Why, if Bill hadn’t put some sort of weird force field around them, he would have been lead in, and they would have picked all the flesh from his bones!

…He realized that wasn’t exactly a comforting thought, but it was so _cool_!

“Oh man, they were the coolest things—hey wait, what’s that?”

Bill looked up, following the direction Dipper was pointing.  There were two creatures flying in the direction of the mountains, and while they were far too large and humanoid to be normal birds, they didn’t look like sirens either.  Even though the moon was bright, it was too dark to make out any details.  Bill looked rather perplexed at the sight of them.

“Hmm, not often you see those guys leave their island.  They’re a snobby bunch!”  Bill turned back to Dipper, waving off his concern.  “Don’t worry about some loser crow goblins, kid.  You don’t need to get mixed up with the likes of them.  Probably just got lost and are too full of themselves to ask for directions.”

Crow goblins?  That sounded kind of familiar.  As if he’d heard of that, but not in the journal.  On the internet maybe?  Or on television…?

Dipper yelped as a familiar weight smacked against his butt.  He glared at Bill, who waved his cane warningly.

“I said not to worry, Pine Tree, so _don’t worry_.”  He floated closer to Dipper, letting his cane disappear and putting his small hands on Dipper’s cheeks.  “This is our honeymoon, isn’t it?  Aren’t we supposed to do disgustingly sentimental drivel?”

“…You have sex on your honeymoon.”  Bill looked at him blankly.  “You do that other stuff on dates, you know, those things you usually do _before_ you conjure up dream tentacles.”

“So I mixed it up a little, big deal!”  More like he didn’t care or perhaps didn’t even know how human courtship went, but Dipper decided it wasn’t worth bringing up.  He was going to need to learn how to choose his battles if he was going to survive Bill.  “Hey kid, catch.”

Dipper fumbled with the object Bill abruptly tossed his way, but luckily it was long enough for him to get a grip on it before it hit the ground.  He held it up, and he didn’t need the moonlight to tell what it was.

“Bill, is this—”

“Just shut up and put it on, Pine Tree.”

The chain was silver, and hanging around it was a golden ring.  It didn’t take a genius to guess the significance.  It _did_ make Dipper wonder.

“…Okay, I know you said this is like a marriage, but we’re not really married.  You know that, right?”  Bill rolled his eye.

“You’re assuming that I care about human customs again.  Do I need to get my cane out here?”  Dipper fought the urge to cover his butt.  “Just calm down and look at the ring.”

Dipper did just that, squinting in the darkness to see that within the band, there were words engraved upon it.  It wasn’t in any language Dipper understood, though it looked old.

“Ancient Sumerian protection spell,” Bill spoke after a few long moments of silence.  Dipper looked up at him, but Bill was looking up at the moon.  He seemed a bit pensive, but only for a moment.  He turned back to Dipper, the normal off-kilter look back in his eye.  “You know, in case you get yourself into trouble, which seems to be all the time!  The silver will keep lots of creatures from tearing your throat out until I can get to you too.”

Dipper smiled and placed the chain over his head.  He tucked the ring under his shirt, and he swore that he could feel it hum with magic.  Well, marriage or just being bound by a magical contract, Dipper supposed it didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.  He and Bill were in it for the long haul.  They’d both just have to get used to each other’s quirks.

…Of course, he wouldn’t complain if Bill quit trying to spank him.

And of course, he secretly couldn’t wait until Bill did.

“The night is young Pine Tree.  If you _really_ want me to…”

The first thing he was going to learn was how to keep Bill out of his thoughts, he swore it!


	5. Chapter 5

After their “honeymoon” spent watching sirens, Dipper didn’t see Bill for a whole day.  Then two.  Then a week.  Now the summer was almost over; he and Mabel were set to head back to California in only four days, leaving enough time to get ready for school.  He would have been in the seventh grade, and now he was never going to see high school.

That fact didn’t bother him all that much, seeing as he was going to have plenty of time to learn American history and algebra if he _really_ wanted to.  He somehow doubted that he was ever going to need to find a day job either.  He had no friends who he’d miss, nor any who would miss him.  And his family…

Of course he’d miss Grunkle Stan, but he wouldn’t have seen him for nearly a year anyway.  His parents?  They’d always found his preoccupation with the supernatural a waste of time, and based on what Bill had told him, that now seemed very suspicious.  If he had magic in him, shouldn’t at least one of them have some too?  Could Mabel?  He supposed that it was possible that she didn’t; they were only fraternal twins, after all, and Bill didn’t seem interested in her.  _Thankfully_.

But he couldn’t exactly confirm or deny anything when Bill was nowhere to be found.

He tried reaching out to Bill, but Dipper didn’t know how to force a response.  With as hard as he was trying to contact him, Dipper was sure that Bill knew what was happening and was just ignoring him.  It was frustrating, but there was nothing he could do about it, not in his current state.  So he tried his best to enjoy what was left of his summer—what was left of his time with Mabel.  He still hadn’t thought up an excuse for her yet, and time was swiftly running out.  How could he let her know he was disappearing for years and not make her worry…?

“Dipper!  You’ll never guess what I heard!”  Dipper was hiding his worry from his twin well enough not to make her think he was being any weirder than she normally felt he was.  He merely looked up from his journal and gave her a small smile.

He didn’t have the faintest idea as to what she’d heard.  At the beginning of the summer, it definitely would have been about a boy, but since Pacifica stopped acting like such a jerk—finding out one’s family was a bunch of lying, cheating backstabbers tended to do that—Mabel had certainly stopped caring about boys as much.  She had mentioned once, a few days back, that she found it odd that she couldn’t remember something about the whole situation.  By suppressing her memories, Bill had made her forget exactly how she’d forgiven his comments about Pacifica in the first place, and Dipper just avoided the subject, positing that maybe she was just that nice of a sister to forgive him.  That had been enough to placate her.

“What is it, Mabel?”  She hopped on her toes excitedly, clapping her hands together.

“Soos saw a unicorn!  Oooooh, Dipper, I want to see it so bad! Will you come with me?”

Mabel looked so excited that he knew he could never say no to her.  And it wasn’t like unicorns were that dangerous—he’d read all about them in the journal—it was just…

He didn’t know if he’d be able to see one.  Did dream sex count as losing one’s virginity?

Still, where one mythical creature gathered, more tended to be nearby, and he’d never let her put herself in danger.  Not now that he was painfully aware of how mortal she was.

“All right Mabel, let’s go look for your unicorn.”

\---

It was… strange.

Dipper could see the unicorn, but he wasn’t completely sure that was really what it was.  It looked off somehow, despite having only seen the drawings in the journal before.  That unicorn was pure white and calm and let a pure maiden braid its hair.  It certainly didn’t have a grungy grey coat, pitch black eyes, or alarmingly sharp teeth.  Why, if he didn’t know any better, he’d say this wasn’t a unicorn at all, but merely a fake that some other creature was using to lure people in.

Oh wait, he _did_ know better!

“Mabel, that’s not a unicorn.”  Beside him, sitting in the bushes, Mabel nodded.  If even _Mabel_ could tell this thing was a fake, then the thing that made it was hopefully very ashamed of itself.

“What do we do?” she asked, and his immediate response _should_ have been that they’d go back to the shack and forget they’d ever seen it.  But his hand subconsciously brushed over his hidden enchanted ring, and his good sense abruptly left him.

“We’re gonna have one last adventure this summer and follow it.  Did you bring your grappling hook?” She pulled it out of seemingly nowhere, a bright grin on her face.  “Great.  Let’s do this…”

\---

The first warning sign had been the fake unicorn’s appearance, and the second was the fact that after they’d shown themselves, it had lead them up the very mountain that Dipper had ascended with Bill to see the sirens.  The same one where he’d seen the goblins that Bill hadn’t wanted him to even think about.

Now he was beginning to see why.

“Dipper, they’re gaining on us!”

“I _know_ , Mabel!”

Both were out of breath and Dipper wondered how in the world these things were so fast.  No matter how much they used the grappling hook to get them away, the creatures were there in a flash.  They were too fast to outrun, and nothing Dipper tried was shaking them.  If only he had control of his magic; if only he even knew what it _was_!  If he died here, so would Mabel.  So would _Bill_.  And Bill would find him in hell and kill him all over again, and—

And Mabel slumped to the ground unceremoniously, catching Dipper and the strange winged humanoids before them by surprise.

The goblins looked like people, with sharp golden eyes and small pointed noses, but with sharp teeth and a giant pairs of crow’s wings protruding from their backs.  The man had hair that looked like spun gold, while the woman’s was as dark as coal, and they both wore a little black, boxy hat upon their heads.  Their clothes definitely looked foreign, as did their strange wooden sandals.  In their hands, which were tipped with thick black talons, they held fans that looked like they were made from leaves, and Dipper had the cuts to show that they could whip up terrible winds.

The man spoke in a language Dipper couldn’t understand, but it hardly mattered.  His tone said that he was angry and that Dipper was going to die if a miracle didn’t happen soon.

‘ _Bill, where are you?  I need your help!_ ’

The man raised his fan, and Dipper flinched…  Then the ring pressed against his heart grew warm, and a familiar surge of magic filled the air.

Bill’s back appeared before Dipper, but he didn’t need an emotional bond to tell that Bill was _pissed_.  Not just at the goblins either.

Dipper had a feeling he wasn’t getting out of this one easily.

\---

“Mabel’s okay?”

“She’ll wake up soon.  You can feed her some story about her fainting and you being a little hero and saving the day.  That is, assuming your squishy little body can even move enough to spout lies after I’m through with you!”

Dipper gulped; he’d been right.  Bill was very, _very_ angry with him.

“Look Bill, I can explain—”

“Save it,” he cut off.  Dipper, despite having an irate demon before him, wasn’t _quite_ fearing for his life.  There was the obvious reason, of course, but they were also in the dreamscape, with Dipper’s body safely in bed.  After Bill had teleported Mabel’s unconscious body in, he’d forced Dipper into the same state.  “You’ve already told me about your fake unicorns—you wouldn’t even be able to _see_ a unicorn, you stupid kid!— _and_ about how you blatantly ignored my warning to stay away from the youkai.”

“Yo-what?”  Bill ignored him, and Dipper noticed a distant red glow coming from the demon’s body.

“I know you have a hard time not doing idiotic things because you’re a dumb human, but you can’t do them when _my_ life is on the line.  You can’t get yourself killed when you belong to _me_!  Do you understand?  Your life is _mine_!”

Blue flames sparked from Bill’s fingers, and Dipper yelped as his body moved via demonic dream magic.  Bill’s body grew until he was several times larger than he normally was—big enough for Dipper to lie over his stick-like black legs.  His now larger black hands swiftly pulled Dipper’s shorts and underwear down, exposing his pale bottom.

“I guess I’ll just have to teach you a lesson about putting us in danger because you’re feeling reckless and stupid!  Now, you’d better keep count,” Bill warned, “or I’m starting over!”

The sensation was different from the few times Bill had swatted him with his cane.  There was more power behind this, yet it somehow didn’t sting as much.  It… wasn’t that bad. 

“O-one.”

Another spank.

“ _T-two_.”

Another.

“T-three!”

They continued on, and with every smack, Dipper grew harder.  He’d been spanked by his parents when he was younger, though luckily he hadn’t responded as he did now.  This was different, somehow, _thankfully_.  Maybe just because it was Bill.  Probably because he’d wondered what Bill spanking him would be like since Bill had brought it up.

“ _Fifteen_.”

His cock rubbed against Bill’s leg, and much like most of Bill, it was oddly warm.  The ache of his abused butt and that rubbing was driving him wild, and he could feel Bill’s aura coursing through the mindscape, possessive and protective, and—

“Twen— _aah_!

He cried as he came, his cock twitching between his belly and Bill’s leg, the conflicting sensations finally being too much to handle, and it was no less intense than when the tentacles had been involved.  Above him, Bill was no longer red—more of a pink, making Dipper think Bill had enjoyed that as much as he did—but he didn’t do anything to change their positions either.

“Pine Tree, didn’t I say I’d start over if you stopped?”  He brought his hand down again, causing Dipper to cry out.  This time, however, he wasn’t crying out in pleasure.  That one hadn’t felt good _at all_.  “I think that’s _one_!”

“Please Bill,” he gasped out, “wasn’t that enough?  I learned my lesson, okay?  I won’t—”

Another smack only further hurt his reddened backside.

“Okay, that was _one_ , too!  You better count!”

“Bill, _please_.”

_Smack_.

“Bill, that _hurts_.  Stop!”

Dipper braced himself for the sting of Bill’s hand, but it never came.  He craned his neck to look up at Bill, only to see him back to his normal color, watching Dipper with an unidentifiable expression.  He didn’t look mad that Dipper had told him to stop, so that was something, he supposed.

“…All right, Pine Tree, I guess you won’t go getting yourself killed now.”

Dipper was a little amazed when Bill shrank back down to his normal size—snapping his fingers to get rid of the semen on his leg—and all just because Dipper had told him to stop.  True, Bill had done it before, but in this case, he’d been _mad_.  But he’d still stopped…

“Don’t think about it too much, kid,” Bill muttered.  One more snap of his fingers and Dipper’s behind no longer felt as if it were on fire.  “Just be glad I’m not making you feel that when you wake up!"

He sat up and pulled his underwear and shorts back up.  He felt…  Happy.  Maybe Bill wouldn’t tell him _why_ he’d stopped, but Dipper could hazard a guess.

“So, um…”  What did one say after all of _that_ …?  “Where have you been all this time?”  Bill looked at him silently for a moment, then closed his eye and chuckled.

“Getting things ready for your little extended vacation.  It’s only a few days away.”  As if he needed reminding.  “Look kid, just try not to get into too much trouble until then.  And stay off that mountain.  Those asshole birds won’t come after you, but they’ll be livid if they see you again.  And so will I!”

Dipper certainly didn’t need to be told _that_ again.  Whatever those creatures were, why ever they were trying to lure humans in with an illusion, he didn’t know.  But he never wanted to see them again.

“I got it.”

“Good!” he cheered, his cane popping into his hand.  Dipper was coming to associate rather uncomfortable things from the sight of it.  At least Bill hadn’t beaten him within an inch of his life with it.  The goblins hadn’t gotten out of it so easily, but he didn’t really care about them.  “Now, be a good meat puppet until I come to get you!  Maybe buy some gold while you can!”

Dipper really wished Bill didn’t feel the need to jab him in the gut every time he wanted to wake him up, but he didn’t get much time to think about it before he was forcibly tossed from the dreamscape.  The attic was dark around him when he opened his eyes, but he could make out Mabel’s silhouette across the room.  He quickly shut them again; he didn’t want to keep lying to Mabel, he really didn’t.  It would be easier to try to fall back asleep than to try to come up with an excuse on what had happened to them…

So he did just that.

\---

Mabel didn’t ask about anything in the morning.  Or the afternoon, or in the evening.  She didn’t bring it up at all.  Dipper didn’t know if Bill had repressed her memory again, or if she’d just accepted it as another crazy summer adventure they’d had, but he was grateful for the respite.

Soon the day arrived.

Stan, Wendy, Soos, Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica all showed up to the bus station, while other friends had said their goodbyes earlier in the week.  Mabel was crying and hugging everyone goodbye, her pockets full of telephone numbers and email addresses, making sure for the hundredth time that day that Waddles would be taken care of.  Dipper had no one there just for him, so he watched his sister hugging and crying and spending a little too long in Pacifica’s arms to be _just_ friends.

He wished he could hug Mabel and cry and not look suspicious.  He wasn’t going to see her for such a long time, and…

And…

Everyone suddenly stopped.

The world wasn’t grey, but no one was moving, and the magical aura that was Bill Cipher filled the air.  It was time, and Dipper realized in a panic that he wasn’t ready.  He hadn’t said goodbye, he hadn’t told Mabel what was going on, he—!

“Calm down, Pine Tree.”  He couldn’t see Bill, but Dipper knew he was there, somewhere.  “You knew this was coming.”

“But I—”

“No buts!  I gave you plenty of time!”  And he had, but it still hadn’t been enough.  “Now come on, we have lots of work if you want to see Shooting Star before she has a kid or whatever else you humans like to do when you think you’re adults.”

“I haven’t told Mabel anything though!” Bill just tutted and finally appeared.  He poked Stan a few times, and Dipper swore he jabbed Wendy a little _too_ hard.

“The moment we’re gone,” he explained, giving Wendy another poke that made Dipper wince, “all of her repressed memories will come back.  Even if she squeals, it will be too late.  We’ll be gone, and Stanford won’t be able to stop me.”

Would Mabel tell them?  Probably, he decided.  And he thought—no, he _knew_ that none of the others would approve.  He could only imagine the things Stan was going to say about both him and Bill when they were gone.  Nothing one would repeat in polite company, he was positive.

His disappearance was going to cause so many problems, but it was too late.  He _had_ to do this, and he _wanted_ to.  So he walked over and gave Stan, Soos, and Wendy hugs—was it his imagination or was Bill tinted _green_ for a moment?—and finally, he stopped at Mabel.

“Sorry sis.”  He drew his arms around her, leaning his cheek on her shoulder, feeling the soft fabric of her sweater.  “I hope you’ll forgive me when I get back.”

Then he let go and turned to Bill, giving the demon a small smile.

“Okay…  I’m ready.”

Then they were gone and time once again began to flow.

“…Dipper?”

And the world fell apart.


	6. Chapter 6

Mabel Pines was twenty-one years old, going to college for fashion design, and completely unable to give up on finding her missing twin brother.

The worst part was that she knew what had happened to him, at least to an extent, though there was nothing she could do to find him.  Wherever he was, he was surely with Bill Cipher.  She’d told her great uncle as much when Dipper suddenly disappeared at the bus stop nine long years ago.  Her memories had come rushing in at once—Bill appearing in Dipper’s dreams, Dipper beginning to trust such a dangerous creature, her trusting her brother’s judgment—and she’d tearfully told Stan where she thought Dipper had gone.  There had been a huge hunt for him, of course, but he’d never been found—Mabel knew he wouldn’t be, not by normal police at least.  No one outside of the few who knew Gravity Falls’ secrets knew what had happened.

Even then, only she knew _everything_.

“ _I’ll be taking him away, Shooting Star_ ,” Bill had told her the first time they’d met in the physical world, right before he locked away her memories.  “ _You’ll see him eventually…_ If _you don’t cause me any trouble!_ ”

She hadn’t told anyone of Dipper and Bill’s little relationship, whatever that might have been.  There was no use in potentially making things worse, and as much as she didn’t trust Bill, she trusted her twin.  If he went with Bill, there must have been a good reason.  It had to have been more than a strange little crush.  She just had to keep hope.  It was, after all, all she had left.

Mabel tried to visit Gravity Falls whenever she had the time.  With college, it was hard, but between her great uncle, her friends, and her girlfriend, she always managed to make some time.  Such was the case on that crisp March morning.  It was the beginning of Spring Break, and while she really should have been working on her end-of-the-semester projects, she promised Pacifica she’d come visit, and visit she would.  She just had to walk a little bit, give herself time to get her thoughts together…

“Excuse me?  Are you Mabel Pines?”

Mabel almost stumbled as she noticed a boy standing just a few feet in front of her, smiling up at her.  Where had he come from, and how did he know her name?  She swore no one had been there moments ago!

She cautiously looked him over, trying to remember if she’d met him before.  There was something familiar about him.  Something she just couldn’t quite place.  He looked like he was in his mid-teens, with golden hair that fell nearly to his shoulders, and sharp green eyes that almost, _almost_ , didn’t seem human.  He had a sharp little nose and his nails seemed a touch too pointed.

He looked absolutely normal for Gravity Falls.  Unfortunately, that was an unsettling thought.

“Yep, that’s me!”  She tried to sound more cheerful than she felt.  It worked, just as it always did.  If she didn’t act that way, everyone else around her got uneasy.  Sometimes, it was very draining to be everyone’s emotional pillar.

“I knew it.”  He giggled and took a step closer in the time it took Mabel to blink.  She blinked again.  He was _fast_.  Why…  Why did this seem so familiar?  “I knew I could find you, even though Papa doesn’t like to talk about you.  That was Dad’s test, you see.  If I could find you anyway, I could come along for Papa’s…” he paused, as if looking for the right word, “ _graduation_.”

“O-oh?  Um, that’s great for you!”  Was it just her, or did see keep seeing shadows of things on this boy that weren’t actually there?  Little flickers of his teeth sharpening, of his fingernails looking more like claws, of specks of gold in his eyes…  Was the sun getting to her?  Or was there something different about this kid?  “So, you’re adopted?”

She almost kicked herself for such an obvious question, but there was something _terribly_ off about the boy.  For his part, he narrowed his eyes at her question, his lips quirked in a sneer.

“ _Obviously_.  One of my fathers certainly didn’t get the other one pregnant.”  He looked her up and down for a moment, a small frown on his face.  “If that’s how quickly you connect the dots, I can see why Papa chose me over you…”

Before she could think much on his words, a long distant memory sprang to her mind. Creatures on a mountain, their black wings beating furiously as they chased her and her brother…  She imagined those wings on this boy and she gasped, her hands involuntarily tightening around her suitcase.

“W-who are you?”  The boy smirked—another flicker of an illusion breaking.  Yes, his teeth were too sharp to be a human’s, she was sure of it.

“My name is Nicolas.  At least, that’s the name Papa gave me after they found me.”  Adopted…  By two men…  Who apparently knew her…  No, there was no way.  It couldn’t have been her brother and that demon, there was _no way_.  That made no sense!

“Nicolas is a nice name.”  She laughed a little, trying not to sound nervous.  This time, she was sure she failed.  “A-and, what’s your last name?”

“Come on, you must be smarter than _that_.  Even though I’m _clearly_ superior, you can’t be a complete idiot if Papa still wants to see you so badly.”  He giggled again, and out of nowhere, two fans materialized in his hands.  Those feathers were painful familiar.  “It was nice to meet you, I suppose.  I’ll see you again soon…” He spun around, the fans kicked up a fierce wind around him.  When it died down enough for Mabel to open her eyes, he was gone.

After a few moments, she sank down to her knees.  What was going on…?

\---

“A boy?”

Mabel nodded, adding more sugar to her coffee.  Pacifica gave her a look, but Mabel ignored it.  Her girlfriend liked her coffee much too bitter, so she really shouldn’t have been surprised at how much sugar and crème was needed to make it palatable.

“Yeah, fifteen, sixteen maybe?  Have you seen him around before?”

“No, I haven’t heard of anyone named Nicolas actually.”  Mabel hadn’t thought she would have, but if anyone was going to have information on a new person in town, a Northwest would be it.  If for no other reason than Pacifica’s parents still tended to keep tabs on who had enough money, so they knew whose presence required acknowledgement.  “But if he just disappeared, he’s probably one of those weird creatures, right?  Not a human?”

Pacifica had never quite liked the supernatural, but she’d been far too involved with it over the years to ignore it.  And though she didn’t like getting involved with Dipper’s disappearance, she had promised Mabel she’d call if she ever spotted any sign of him.  It was sometimes hard to believe this was the same girl that tried to humiliate her at karaoke nine years ago, but Mabel had always had faith that she’d come around.  She’d been right about Pacifica, and she wasn’t going to stop thinking she was right about her brother.

“Yeah, I think so.  It’s just, some of the things he said…”  She couldn’t tell Pacifica about the two fathers thing.  If it was true, and if Bill got angry that she’d told…  Well, she didn’t want to think it would be nine more years before Dipper showed up.  “You know what?  Never mind.  He’s not the first weird thing I’ve seen around here, you know?”

“Tell me about it…”

Mabel put the boy out of her head, determined to enjoy her time in Gravity Falls.  She still had so many people to see and things to do—she didn’t have time to worry!  If he was the same creature as the ones that had attacked her and Dipper long ago, maybe it was all a trick, a mind game.  Well, she wasn’t falling for it!  She was going to enjoy herself, and no monster was going to stop her!

\---

“Are you sure about this…?”

“Of course I’m sure!  Now hand me that book or you’re fired!”

Wendy and Soos exchanged glances, but Soos handed the book over to Stan without a word.  Not that either was afraid he’d actually fire them—Stan was getting far too old to do everything himself—but it was just easier this way.  He was going to do it anyway, so they might as well help and make sure he didn’t lose his soul or anything.  He’d almost done it twice before, after all.

Stan had been trying every demon summoning he knew or could find for the past nine years.  And every single one had failed.  Even though they knew Mabel was keeping something from them—something that probably would have helped if Stan knew what it was—they couldn’t sit around doing nothing.  So from the spell Gideon had used in the journals to an Ancient Egyptian tome found in the deepest catacombs—or so the internet auction had claimed—it didn’t matter.  When Stan found a few summon, they called.

And Bill Cipher wouldn’t answer.

And though all three of them knew Bill wouldn’t answer this one either, they would try it.  They would try every one they found until they had Dipper back.  They all loved him, and until he was safe, they’d never give up.

\---

“You found her.”

It wasn’t a question, but he nodded all the same.

“Yeah, she’d just gotten into town.  I knew her by those tacky sweaters, just like you said.”

“Did anyone else see you?”

“No,” he shook his head, a proud expression on his face.  “I cloaked myself around town, just like you taught me.  But…”

“But?”

He frowned, and before him, his father frowned too.

“I think she could see past my glamour.  Not _all_ the time, but I think it broke a few times.  I’m sorry…”

A sigh of relief echoed in the room.

“Is that all?  You had me worried!  She’s your papa’s sister—she doesn’t have enough magic in her squishy body to do much with it, but it’s enough to see through certain things.  You’ll be fine around everyone else.”

“R-right!  Of course I will.  They’re all just humans, after all!”

“You got it.  And once we all go there _together_ …”

Green eyes specked with gold widened, and an excited grin appeared on his face.

“Everything will be ours!”

“That’s my boy!”

Nicolas giggled as his father ruffled his hair, his face flushed and his wings beating gently at the praise he received.

Dipper watched the scene fondly.  Having a family while learning about magic and his bond hadn’t been easy, but it had all been worth it.  Seeing his husband and their son so excited about their upcoming plans took any doubt in his mind away.  This was the right thing to do; he just knew it.  In his heart, he’d _always_ known it.

…And Mabel would see it too.  He would make sure of it.

He closed his hands, and the magical globe that he’d watched the scene from disappeared.  Soon, he and his family would leave their secluded citadel and venture back to the root of everything.  Back to Gravity Falls, where he’d met Bill, where he’d realized that he was greater than he’d ever imagined, where he’d found the abandoned baby who was now his son…

\---

It took four years of pleading and bargaining, but Bill finally said yes—Dipper could visit Mabel.  Bill would be accompanying and Mabel’s memories would be repressed if any sensitive subjects came up, but Dipper could _finally_ see her.

All of that begging—and yet Dipper couldn’t stop himself when they landed on the outskirts of Gravity Falls, where Bill had sensed Mabel was staying for the summer.  He knew he should ignore what he felt—if they were in Gravity Falls, perhaps he could see Grunkle Stan and Soos and Wendy too!—but it was too strong, and something was _very_ hurt…

“Bill, I—”

“I got it, Pine Tree.  I feel it too.”  Bill looked in the direction of some very familiar mountains.  “I’m almost impressed that you can though!”  Dipper gave him an unimpressed look.  “Fine, fine!  Be that way!  But don’t cry to me if this changes your plans…”

The last time Dipper had been there, he and Mabel had fled for their lives, only to be saved by Bill’s enchanted ring calling him to the twins’ aid at the last moment.  Now, the area was seemingly abandoned.  Well, if it weren’t for the small, writhing creature on the hot rocky mountain path.

“It’s a baby.”  Dipper took a step towards the creature; looking at it, there was no doubt it was the child—son, he soon noticed—of those two goblins.  But where were they?  No matter how far Dipper stretched his senses, he didn’t feel their auras anywhere.  He looked at Bill, hoping for his input, but the demon only shrugged.  “So then…  I guess he’s an orphan now.”

“Seems it.  Well, until something comes along and eats it.”

“ _Eats it?_   Bill, we can’t—”

“Like you said, the kid’s an orphan, and he’ll be like a tiny chicken dinner for something with lots of teeth and no brains.  Maybe a few stomachs so he’s more like an appetizer.”

“But…”  Those creatures had been horrid, but this was just a baby.  An innocent baby who didn’t look old enough to have hurt anyone or anything.  “Couldn’t we…?”

“What?  Take him ourselves?”  Bill wasn’t laughing as Dipper thought he might.  If anything, Dipper thought that Bill seemed oddly interested in the situation.  “Pine Tree, you’re the one who keeps telling me we aren’t married, so—”

“I know!” he cut Bill off, his fists curling as he tried to keep the frustration out of his voice.  “But I can’t just leave him!  I can…  No, _we_ can be his parents.”

Bill sighed, but Dipper was good enough at feeling their bond now that he knew that his demon wasn’t upset by his words.

“Look, Pine Tree, it’s up to you.  Either you can go see Shooting Star, or you can take the kid.”

“Why can’t I do both?” he asked.  He didn’t want the child to die, but he’d waited so long and worked so hard for this opportunity!

“Because if you choose the kid, we have to leave.  _Now_.  He’s been alone in the sun without water or food for too long, and he’s going to die pretty soon otherwise.  He might not be a human, but a he’s not immune to rotting away in the sun, as most snotbags aren’t!  Going to see Shooting Star will be too late.  And then you’ll have to wait for the kid to be able to be around humans until he can go out, so that could add on some years before we can come out here again—”

“W-wait, but why would that matter?”

“Listen, I know you’re a bleeding heart, so pay attention.  The kid?  A crow tengu.  Arrogant, conceited youkai from Japan.  I bet those things that almost ripped you and Shooting Star into bloody chunks were the parents.  But they’re long gone now—dead or didn’t want the kid, who knows.  But they aren’t coming back, and if you want to save it, then no other tengu is ever going to welcome it back.  I’ll have to teach him about his magical side, and you’ll have to teach him to fit in with humans.  And it’ll be like pulling bloody teeth from a whole herd of deer.  So hurry up and choose—see your sister, or we’re parents!”

“I…”  He looked at the baby.  He couldn’t open his eyes, and his mouth opened in silent wails.  Who knew how long he’d cried before they’d arrived?  His little wings looked molted and dirty…  He really was going to die.  It was a wonder he hadn’t already.  “I’m sorry, Mabel.”

He rushed over and took off his shirt, wrapping the baby up.  He didn’t struggle as Dipper held him close.

“…Well, I did tell you we could have a kid someday.  Didn’t think you were interested in being a teenage mom, but hey, at least you aren’t unwed!”

“Jokes later, Bill.  Don’t we need to get him back?”

“Right, fine!  Let’s go, Pine Tree!”  He paused, fingers poised to snap, before he lowered his hand.  “Hey…  What do you want to call the brat?”

“You don’t care?”  He thought Bill would want creative rights on that one.

“Nah, consider this one a gift.  But hey!  You really want to piss off the tengu who tried to kill you and Shooting Star?  Name him something completely un-Japanese.  Even if they’re dead, their maggot infested corpses will roll in their shallow graves!”

“Um…”  He glanced down, and looked at the baby in his arms.  Was it just him, or did he look remarkable better already?  Maybe just being close to magical beings was helping him?  “How about Nicolas?”

“If that’s what you want.”  He didn’t look it, but Dipper could sense his approval.

“Okay, then his name is Nicolas.”  He paused, biting his lip as a thought came to him.  He _knew_ he shouldn’t, but…  “Nicolas Cipher.”

The shock that coursed through their bond lasted only a moment, but it hit Dipper clearly.

“What’s your game, Pine Tree?”

“Well, I mean, we’re, ah, _married_ , right?  So really, even if it’s not legal, I should be Dipper Cipher, and that means our…”  He paused and took a breath to steady his voice.  “Our son is Nicolas Cipher.”

“…Pine Tree, that was the most disgustingly saccharine drivel I’ve ever heard you spout.”  Dipper was about to retort, but Bill’s chuckle made him stop.  “But, luckily for you, I don’t mind it if it’s from my favorite meat sack.”

“Then…”  Dipper grinned, a flutter of excitement in his chest a he looked between Bill and the baby.  “We’re really parents.”

“You got it!”

Well, he wasn’t going to see Mabel again, but as he and Bill teleported back to their home, he knew he was doing the right thing.  So maybe he was only sixteen, but so what?  He had…  He a _husband_ who just so happened to be a powerful demon he was bonded to.  Surely, he and Bill could do this.

… _Right_?

\---

“You were watching.”  Dipper didn’t flinch at the weight suddenly on his shoulder.  He shook the memories away, smiling softly.

“Of course.  I wanted to know how Nicolas did.”  He turned his head to look at Bill, who was perched on his shoulder.  “He’s always so happy when you praise him.”

“Tengu _do_ love hearing how great they are.” Demons did too, but Dipper didn’t feel like teasing his partner at the moment.  There’d be plenty of time for that later.  “Being raised by a demon and a human won’t completely change his nature.”

Wasn’t _that_ the truth.  Going from a baby to a teenager in a mere five years wasn’t exactly something he’d been prepared for.  Especially when, as an immortal spirit, his teenage body was a bit too old for the young mind it housed.  Still, he didn’t regret it for a second.  He could even empathize, in a fashion.

“…Bill?”

“Yeah, Pine Tree?”  Dipper smiled, despite all of the thoughts pulling his mind in every direction.  When things were like this, it was hard to be worried.

“I’m really glad I met you.”

He pressed a kiss to Bill’s body, laughing when the demon took on a pink hue.

Yes, everything was going to work out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't draw, but I made this to let you know how Nicolas looks, more or less: http://taitofan.tumblr.com/post/116878883105/nicolasselfy
> 
> And if you have ideas for scenes from the nine year time skip that you'd like to see (magic lessons, relationship building, parenting, etc--I left plenty of room for these things), I'm taking suggestions! If I get enough, I might make them into a whole new story. Thank you, everyone, for your support!


	7. Chapter 7

It was June, and Mabel was once again standing in Gravity Falls. Since the incident with the boy, nothing remarkable had happened to her.  It was, in a way, a letdown.  Nothing unusual meant no Dipper.  But her only summer courses were online, so she would have until the fall began to see what secrets her favorite town had to offer.

Though she was staying in the Mystery Shack, as always, she first made her way to the Northwests’ mansion, intent on surprising Pacifica.  With any luck, she could even get her girlfriend to leave the comforts of her rich home to stay with her for a while.  After all, while Mabel’s presence was tolerated as long as Pacifica’s parents couldn’t tell she was there, her Grunkle Stan readily accepted Pacifica at the shack.  As he had put it when they’d come out to him—“Oh, my sweet little golddigger!  Rich people and their money are _always_ welcome here!”

She’d even broken him of his bad habit, a few summers ago, of hawking his merchandise to Pacifica every time she came over.

Mabel walked slowly down the dirt road until the rumble of a car sounded in the distance.  It was a familiar enough sound to bring a smile to her face.  Sure enough, Mabel soon saw Pacifica’s car zooming down the road.  With the precision only someone who’d taken driving lessons from professional Italian racecar drivers could show, Pacifica spun her car and stopped the passenger seat door directly in front of Mabel.

“Hey, Pacifica!” she greeted, climbing in.  Her smile fell when she noticed the serious look on her girlfriend’s face.  “Pacifica…?”

“Did your phone die?”  Mabel gasped as Pacifica stepped on the gas, peeling out down the road.  She barely had time to get her seatbelt fastened before they hit a speed that was clearly over the limit.  “Stan and Wendy both tried calling you, and Stan called _me_ to see if _I_ could get a hold of you.”

“Um,” she pulled her phone out of her pocket, and sure enough, the screen was blank.  She hadn’t even realized.  “Yeah, I guess it is.  Is something wrong?”

Pacifica kept her eyes on the road, but the look on her face wasn’t inspiring any confidence.  What terrible thing could have happened that so many people were trying to reach her, knowing she was arriving that day anyway?  And to think Stan had gone so far as to contact Pacifica...!

“It’s…  Dipper.”  Mabel felt as if time had stopped.  _No_ , no way!  After all this time, and…  “Stan said he just showed up this morning with a kid, totally out of nowhere.”

“A kid?”  She thought back to that strange encounter, three months ago.  “Did Grunkle Stan say anything else?”

“Not really, but he didn’t sound as happy as I thought he would have been.  Actually, _you_ don’t either.  What’s up?”

She couldn’t tell Pacifica her worries, and honestly, it wasn’t like she had proof that anything was wrong.   Sure it was suspicious that Stan didn’t seem pleased, but it _was_ just over the phone, so maybe Pacifica had misunderstood his tone?  Maybe it wasn’t even the same kid, and she didn’t have to be afraid that Bill had done anything to her brother.

It sure was a lot of maybes though.

“It’s nothing, really!  I just don’t know how to react.”  That part wasn’t a lie at least.  “He’s been gone so long…”

“Yeah, but, I mean, he’s back.  That’s good, right?”  Mabel smiled brightly; no need to worry before she knew what was going on.  Dipper was back, and that was what mattered.

“Right!”

\---

Mabel’s hands were shaking so badly that Pacifica had to open the door to the Mystery Shack.  They stepped inside, only to find that the storefront was empty.  Undeterred, Mabel moved towards the house proper, soft sounds meeting her ears.

“So the babies just… hit each other?  For no reason?”

“No reason?  Kid, they’re _babies_!  This stuff is hilarious!”

“I suppose violence _is_ rather amusing.”

She recognized the voices.  One she wished she hadn’t.

“There are two great things in this world: money and the humiliation of others.  Now—oh Mabel!  Great timing!” Two heads turned towards her.  Stan was grinning, and Nicolas was _not_.  “Come watch Baby Fights with us.  Can you believe this kid has never watched television before?  Amazing!  What’s your brother thinking, not exposing his kid to the wonders of six-to-twenty-four-month-old violence?”

Mabel just stared, not even knowing _where_ to start with _that_.

“Hello, Aunt Mabel.”  She wasn’t sure it was possible for one teenager’s voice to be filled with that much sugary distain.  “A pleasure to see you again.”

“Again?  Mabel, is this—?”  A hand on Pacifica’s shoulder cut her off.  Mabel shook her head and gave the “ _I’ll tell you later_ ” look.

“Hi Grunkle Stan, hi Nicolas.  Ah, you know, I figured Pacifica driving fifty miles over the speed limit meant my brother was finally here after _nine years_ , but I don’t see him…”  Stan and Mabel’s eyes locked, and she knew there was something he didn’t want to say in front of the other two.

“Hey kid, catch!”  For a moment, Mabel thought the remote control was going to hit Nicolas in the head, but his hand snatched it at the very last moment.  He didn’t even look away from the babies clumsily slapping at each other.  No, he definitely wasn’t human.  “I’m taking Mabel up to see Dipper.  Northwest, you could use some education on the wonders of child fighting too, so stay with the kid.”

While Nicolas showed no signs of caring, Pacifica looked like she was going to protest.  Mabel didn’t exactly blame her, but this was really something she had to do without her.  A pleading look caused her to sigh and reluctantly sit down on the recliner.

“Fine, but you owe me.”  Mabel nodded and followed Stan up the stairs.

\---

It was so _strange_ , Dipper thought as he looked around the attic room he’d last been in so long ago.  So much time had passed, but Mabel had left the entire left side of the room exactly the same.  Nothing had been taken, added, or moved.  And yet, it didn’t look nearly as dusty as it should have.  Had she cleaned whenever she visited?  It certainly seemed that way.

Her side still seemed very Mabel, right down to the glitter that appeared to be fused to the floorboards.  He laughed to himself as he imagined how many terrible sweaters she must have made over the years.  Still, he bet they were soft and comfy, and he really wouldn’t mind leaving Gravity Falls with one.  Of course, if everything went according to plan…

Mabel’s bedside table caught his eye.  There were two pictures in a double frame.  One seemed fairly recent, with Mabel hugging Pacifica, who didn’t look like she particularly wanted her picture taken—whatever they’d been doing, her hair was a mess, so that explained _that_ —but they were both still smiling.  They looked very happy, and Dipper was relieved.  Then there was the other photo, which was very familiar.  His face from almost a decade ago grinned up at him, Mabel standing proudly at his side.  No, she’d certainly never forgotten him, but she’d stayed happy all the same.  That was the best he could have hoped for.

Now, he just had to wait for Mabel to arrive.  Then he’d have a better idea of what his next plan of action would be.  He hoped— _sincerely hoped_ —that she would listen to him.

\---

Pacifica Northwest did not, under any circumstances, pretend to be good with children.  She didn’t want any of her own, and though she assumed that one day Mabel would want to adopt, she was pretending that day was years and years away.  Never had she thought she’d be sitting on a ratty old chair, watching her girlfriend’s nephew—who she just realized existed that very day—glued to a television.

She knew this was the kid Mabel had mentioned before, and that meant he wasn’t human.  While she didn’t notice anything off about him, she’d lived in Gravity Falls far too long to take anything at face value.  Besides, it seemed a lot like Dipper to take in some monster child. He’d been with a demon all this time, right?  Was the kid a demon?  She wasn’t sure if she really wanted to know.

“Hey.”  He didn’t turn to face her, but his head cocked to the side to show he was listening.  “Don’t you want to watch something a little less ridiculous?”

Now he turned around, a look on his face that Pacifica knew very well.

“Something else?”  His eyes darted from her back to the television.  “Y-yes, of course.  This _is_ very ridiculous.  I’ll just…”

To his credit, he knew enough to point the remote at the TV.  She remembered back when she didn’t know something as simple as how to pronounce “share,” and her lips quirked.  Yes, his expression when he accidently turned the TV off was far too nostalgic.

“You don’t know how to use that, do you?”  She might have felt bad for him and his defiant glare if he hadn’t been such a cocky little shit to Mabel.  “I mean, you aren’t a human, right?  It must be hard admitting a _human_ can do something _you_ can’t.”

“I can do it,” he snapped, not looking terribly concerned that she knew he wasn’t human.  Maybe he didn’t expect anyone who knew his father to think otherwise.  Certainly, no one was going to believe that Dipper, at only twenty-one, had a teenage son.  “I don’t need your help.”

He got the TV back on easily enough, but it was five minutes before the contrast was all the way up, the volume was all the way down, and not a single channel had been turned.  Finally, something changed—his eyes no longer looked as arrogant.  In fact, he looked a bit, well…  Afraid.  Not in the same way she had been, when she’d been terrified to hear that damned bell, but another fear she knew well.  Fear that you weren’t as perfect as you pretended, and that you were going to let people down if you failed.

She couldn’t believe she was empathizing with a monster child who didn’t know how to operate a remote control, but there she was.

“Let me see.”  When he made no move, she stood up and snatched it out of his hand.  He didn’t stop her.  Within seconds, the contrast and volume were back where they belonged, and she placed the remote back in his hand.  “Now, TV’s have different things to watch on different _channels_.  Try again.”

He looked at the remote once more and pushed the down arrow, right above the word “Channel.”  The amazement on his face when babies turned into grown men was _almost_ endearing.

A few moments went by, and she cleared her throat.  His eyes didn’t leave the screen.

“ _Excuse me_ , but don’t you have something to say?”  She waited, and just as she was about to give him a nice long lecture—one she probably should have heard at an earlier age—he placed the remote on the floor and turned to face her.

“Yeah, I do…”  Well, she thought, maybe this wasn’t so hard after— “What’s this called?”

It was difficult not to throw her hands up and walk away, but she stood her ground.  She’d just have to yell at Dipper later about how spoiled his brat was.

“It’s called boxing.  Guys with lame names hit each other with tacky gloves until one can’t get up anymore.”  And there it was, another look she knew well.  The same one when Mabel saw a hot guy and made Pacifica happy that her girlfriend would only look and never touch.  “…I’m not into guys, so maybe I’m not qualified to ask this, but what is it with you people and muscles?”

She didn’t get an answer, and with how he was yet again transfixed by the screen, she didn’t think she really wanted one—that it was another thing she was probably better off not knowing.  As if she wanted to know what a teenager saw in a big, sweaty, muscular man.  _Yuck_.

It didn’t, however, escape her that even if he hadn’t thanked her, he had still freely asked her a question.  Baby steps, she supposed.

\---

“Where are Soos and Wendy?”  Mabel asked as they climbed the stairs.

“I, uh, sent them away with some things when Dipper and the kid showed up.”  Mabel wondered if those things were what she thought they might be, but it seemed best not to ask.  One never knew who might be listening.  “Mabel, I need you to be honest with me.”

Normally that would have been fine, but with the day was going, she didn’t like those words very much.

“O-okay Grunkle Stan.  What is it?”

“Do you…”  She gulped, hoping he didn’t ask what she thought he was going to.  Sure, she had Dipper back, but for how long?  What if her telling made Bill take him away again?  “…think that kid is really a human?  It’s pretty obvious you met him sometime before.”

“Yeah, the last time I was here he showed up out of nowhere and we talked for a few minutes.  And no, I think it’s pretty obvious he isn’t human.”  Stan nodded, and Mabel could have sighed in relief.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.  Cipher taking Dipper?  Sure, I can see it.”  He didn’t sound happy about that, but one could hardly blame him.  “But taking in a _human_ kid with him as a son?  No way.”

He’d always seemed to know more about Bill than he let on, and she had a feeling there was something he wasn’t telling her.  But who was she to talk?  She was doing the same thing.  Did he know what she did…?

“Grunkle Stan, what exactly are you trying to say?”

“Mabel, look, I know you were hiding something, and today I think I figured it out.  The kid made a clear distinction between his _papa_ and his _dad_.  I just never thought that bastard would take Dipper away to… to _groom_ him.  And their kid, probably kidnapped or something!”

They stopped at the top of the stairwell, and Stan turned to face her.  He looked so helpless—about how she felt.  She wasn’t sure about his theory, but then again, she’d never really considered it either.  Dipper had been eager to be with Bill, even though he’d tried to hide it.  She bet that if Bill hadn’t locked her memories, Dipper would have been bragging about how Bill was going to take him away.

But she also knew that Bill was a demon, and there was no reason to think he wouldn’t play with Dipper to turn him into whatever suited his plans.  While she was glad Dipper apparently wasn’t physically hurt, she still really didn’t know _what_ to think yet.

“I…”

“Did Cipher ever threaten you?”

She shook her head—it hadn’t been a _threat_ , per say.  A warning?  A warning that still stood?

“I can’t…”

“It’s okay,” he held up his hands and looked around.  He didn’t trust that there wasn’t a certain demon around who could be listening either, it seemed.  “You don’t have to say anything.  We’ve gotta figure out a way to get to Dipper is all.  Figure out what Cipher did and—”

“Bill didn’t do anything I didn’t want him to.”

They froze for a moment, before turning to face the source of the voice.  Mabel could have cried.  There he was, safe and normal looking—her missing brother was _right there_.

“Dipper!”

His annoyed expression melted when he looked at her.

“ _Mabel_.”

Stan cleared his throat after a few silent moments of the twins staring and smiling.

“Oh, uh, hey.  Not to break up this happy reunion or anything, but…  You heard that?”

“It was hard not to, with as loud as you’re being.” Stan chuckled nervously, but Mabel could only look at her brother.  He looked, well, about how she figured he would at their age.  Taller, kind of gangly, same hair…  But something still seemed off.  Not _bad_ exactly, just definitely different.  “Grunkle Stan, I already told you I left with Bill to learn magic from him, and Nicolas was orphaned.  Now, can I please talk to Mabel?  _Alone_?”

“Sure, sure, I’ll uh, I’ll get outta your hair.”  He caught Mabel’s eye as he turned, and she knew the unspoken message— _Yell if something goes wrong_.  She ignored it; this was _Dipper_ , and nothing was going to go wrong.

Dipper turned back towards the door, allowing her inside. The room was just how Mabel had left it a few months before, just a bit dustier, with two bags on the floor by Dipper’s bed.

“Mabel.”  She turned to him, and she was enveloped in a hug before she realized it.  Immediately, she hugged him back, her throat tightening as she felt her eyes well up.  “Oh Mabel, I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too.”  It took a lot to hold back her sobs—she was too happy, too upset.  Why was he back?  Why did he wait so long?  Who cared as long as he was there and unharmed?  “Oh Dipper…  Why did you leave?”

“I made a deal with Bill, and I had to uphold my part of it.  I had to get stronger.  Strong enough to protect myself.  Here, watch.”  He let go of her— _she missed him already_ —and turned around.  He held out a hand, which erupted in blue flames.  Mabel gasped, but Dipper didn’t seem to feel it at all, nor did it appear to burn him.  A few books floated off his old bookshelf and stacked neatly on the floor.  He chuckled when he saw her stunned face, and it occurred to her how much deeper his voice was now.  She’d never gotten the chance to make fun of him every time his voice cracked.  Wasn’t that a sister’s job?  If he had no ulterior motives, why couldn’t Bill have _waited_?  “And that’s just one of the first things I learned.”

“So, you made a deal with Bill Cipher so you could do magic-y things?”  She wasn’t sure that such a reason sat well with her, especially when he shrugged so nonchalantly.  There had to be more than that.  He’d only been twelve!  _She’d_ only been twelve!  Why wasn’t he more concerned about this?  What was she missing?

“Kind of?  He wanted to be in the physical world, and he could give me power if we contracted a bond between us.  The potential to do this stuff was already in me, and Bill just sort of coaxed it out.”  He paused, looking a bit sad.  “I thought you might have some magical talent too, but Bill said that the best you could hope for is to see past mystical creature’s cloaking powers, and Nicolas said you’ve already started to do that.”

So she hadn’t been seeing things—not only was he not human, he didn’t completely look like one either.  He was hiding, and while Mabel knew why, she still wondered what exactly was being hidden in the first place.

“Well thanks, but I’m pretty sure I’m okay with not taking on a dream demon as a teacher.”  He laughed good-naturedly at that, which was a relief.  Could they be blowing things out of proportion?  Stan didn’t think so, but too much was happening too fast for her to know what she thought of everything.  “And about your son…”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized immediately, like he knew what she was going to say next.  It occurred to her that maybe he _did_ —she didn’t know what else he’d learned from Bill.  “The only human he’s ever been around is me, and Bill lets him get away with murder.”  …She hoped he didn’t mean that _literally_.

“Does he hate me?”  He certainly didn’t seem to like her, but Dipper shook his head.  Then he stopped and shrugged instead.

“I don’t think so?”  Wow, that was sure a vote of confidence.  “Please, just give him time.  He’s nothing like his parents.  You remember them, right?  On the mountain?”

“How could I forget?” she murmured, painful memories coming back to her.  Even if Dipper was here now, he’d still been gone for _so long_.  “It was our last adventure before you left.”

“Yeah, it was.”  His hand moved to his chest, and she noticed a thin chain hanging around his neck.  “Bill saved us that time, you know?  I couldn’t tell you back then.  But when he knew I was in trouble, well…”

He untucked the chain from under his shirt, and she almost chocked when she saw the golden band there.  So, Dipper had some sort of demonic bond, and Bill had given him what looked like a wedding ring.  Considering what she remembered about certain weird dreams Dipper had been having back then, coupled with Nicolas saying he had two fathers, well, it didn’t take a genius to figure out the implications.

“Dipper, um…  I was wondering, what _exactly_ is going on between you and Bill?”

He glanced up from the ring, and if anything was concerning about this whole day, it was how sincerely smitten her brother looked.

“We’re married, of course.”

\---

Things being the way they were, Pacifica insisted that she spend the night with Mabel.  Mabel agreed, not wanting to leave her brother, even if it was in the same town.  Heck, his new attitude made her not want to let him out of her sight.  So they stayed in Soos’s breakroom, while Dipper and Nicolas took the attic.  She’d figured Dipper would enjoy sleeping in that room again.

“So, will I ever meet this elusive Bill, or is the rest of the Cipher family the crux of it?”

Mabel almost cringed at those words.  _Cipher family_.  She hadn’t even known that there was a bond between them, let alone that Dipper considered them to be _married_.  But she pushed those feelings aside, feeling a bit guilty.  All of this had ultimately come about because Dipper had made a rude comment about her and Pacifica liking each other.  She didn’t understand what was going on between Bill and Dipper, but she couldn’t stop something she had no knowledge of.  For all she knew, Dipper could be in absolutely no danger at all.

“I don’t think you’d want to…”  Or rather, she really didn’t want Pacifica to get wrapped up in whatever was going on.  “I mean, you’ve seen his son, and Bill is somehow worse than that.”  It was an understatement, to be sure, but she didn’t think Pacifica needed all of the details yet.

“I don’t know, I didn’t think he was _so_ bad.”  She had that look in her eyes—the look that told Mabel she was remembering things that weren’t necessarily nice.  “He’s spoiled and has a bad superiority complex, but I guess I can’t really judge him for that.”

Mabel didn’t know what Bill’s plan was, nor what was going on with Dipper.  But she decided right then that until she had a concrete reason to be concerned, then there was no use in being paranoid.  That was Dipper’s thing, not hers.  No, her job was simple—to make people smile.

“…Pacifica, that trunk next to you.  Can you open it and tell me if there’s yarn in there?”  She gave Mabel a confused glance, but did as she was requested.  If Mabel was right, that was a trunk she’d left a year or so ago.  If it had been left alone, then she had a plan.

“Yes, why?”

“And the glitter?”  Pacifica rolled her eyes.

“Unfortunately.”

“Great!”  Mabel cheered, leaping up and pumped his fist in the air.  “Then I’m going to need to start working right away.  I’ll need black, and some green…”

\---

Dipper gasped as the hands around his neck squeezed.  He could barely breathe, but he was not afraid.  He had no reason to be, after all, not when Bill was cooing about how all of their plans were going perfectly.  Dipper would have agreed verbally, if he could have spoken, but he settled for pouring his thoughts through their bond instead.

“Everyone _thinks_ they know what’s happening, but not one of those meat sacks is right.  Your acting is perfect, Pine Tree.  You could have been on stage!”  His eye crinkled in amusement when his only response was a gurgled moan.  “Your projection needs work though, if this is all you’ve got.”

Dipper’s mind was hazy and his body was near its peak.  He wasn’t a child anymore, and he could hold his own far better than when they’d first started having sex.  Of course, with all the things they’d done over the years, he would have felt rather ashamed if he couldn’t handle something as simple as _this_.

“Come for me, Pine Tree.”

And yet, even without touching his cock, Bill still had the power to drive him over the edge.

Dipper came hard, gasping as Bill’s hands left his throat the moment orgasm hit him.  If he could see, he was sure his throat would be bruised and talking would be next to impossible, but he still wasn’t concerned.  This was the mindscape—he’d be fine the moment he willed it so.

“You’re such a masochist,” Bill said after a few minutes of watching Dipper float in the void, doing nothing to heal himself.  Or clothe himself.  “Why, someone might think you _liked_ to be hurt!”

“Y-you know I do.”  His voice was hoarse, but he supposed playtime was over.  With a thought, all of the lingering pain went away, but he didn’t will any clothes back on him.  He knew Bill wouldn’t mind.  “How much longer before you’ll come here?”

“I’ve got a few loose ends to tie up, but soon.”  That could have meant anything—Bill would never feel the crunch of time as a human did.  And considering his little makeshift family were all immortal as far as age went, if it weren’t for the fact that Mabel was still in this equation, he wouldn’t even care either.  As much as he hated to think it, it was obvious that the others weren’t going to accept this, but Mabel…  She might.  “Alright, I’ve gotta go see how our feathered little brat is doing.  I’ll be watching!”

When Bill left the mindscape, it was always abrupt, especially now that he didn’t need to stay there if he didn’t want to.  Their bond had only made it that Bill didn’t feel the need to smack him when he left all the time.  Just sometimes.  Mostly on his ass.

Dipper’s eyes blinked open, and the moonlight seeping into the room was bright enough for him to see over to Mabel’s bed.  Nicolas slept soundly, and not for the first time was Dipper glad that he’d mastered the art of keeping his body quiet no matter what he and Bill did in his dreams.  He could make out a smile on his son’s face—no doubt Bill was in there already, prepping him for the next part of their plan, and of course, telling him how well he’d already done.

Quietly, so not to disturb his son, Dipper got out of bed and went over to the bag he’d brought with him.  He pushed some clothes aside and pulled out his favorite book—the journal.

He almost laughed as he gently flipped through the pages.

 _Soon_.


	8. Chapter 8

Dipper never went back to sleep that night—he’d never slept much as a child, and he certainly didn’t need it now that he and Bill shared their very lives—instead going over those well-read pages until the sun peaked up over the horizon.

Not long after the sunlight began to filter into the room, Dipper heard the rustling of bed sheets.  He looked over to see Nicolas beginning to stir.  While tengu didn’t need as much sleep as a human, he couldn’t completely go without, though it did mean that the family as a whole woke up early and went to bed late.  Well, Bill didn’t really do either of those things, but he’d pretend when he didn’t have anything better to do.  He thought back to after they’d first taken Nicolas in, when Dipper would fall asleep with his son curled up next to him, only to wake up and find that sometime during the night, Bill had settled down on his other side…

“Hmm, Papa?  What are you so happy about?”  Nicolas was still lying stomach down on the mattress, one golden eye looking at him.

“Why shouldn’t I be happy?” he countered, earning a groan.  Here it came…

“I dunno, maybe because we’re in some dinky shack instead of our nice big secluded home?”  He sat up and stretched out his wings, a few pitch black feathers fluttering to the sheets.  His pointed teeth were in full view as he scowled.  Teething that child had been a _nightmare_.  “Or maybe because I’m surrounded by weird humans, and Dad still isn’t here, and—”

“That’s enough.”  His voice was gentle, but firm.  When your child was capable of ripping your flesh from your bones, you quickly learned how to garner respect and affection.  Sometimes it still amazed him that he was the “tough” parent.  “I know you feel uncomfortable around humans, but these are my family and friends.  Your dad won’t hurt them, and neither will you.  Is that clear?”

Nicolas’s lips pursed together in a pout, but he nodded.  Dipper knew he wanted to argue, probably say that Dipper was wrong and he wasn’t _uncomfortable_ , but he said nothing.

“And please stop being rude to your aunt.  She hasn’t done anything to deserve it.”

While he hadn’t seen Nicolas interact with Mabel yet, he didn’t doubt for a moment that she’d told the truth.  Especially when he saw Nicolas’s fists clench, sharp talons digging into his skin, somehow— _amazingly_ —not cutting him open.

“Whatever.”

Dipper sighed as Nicolas got out of bed and snapped his fingers, hiding all signs of being a tengu to anyone who wasn’t trying to look past it.  The snapping was purely for show, something he’d picked up from Bill.  In a way, he was glad Bill wasn’t there yet; surely the demon would not only have approved of their son’s behavior, but encouraged it.

“So, when did your dad tell you to get them?”

Nicolas didn’t turn around.  But he was playing with the hem of his long shirt, which told Dipper that he felt guilty about something and really didn’t want to admit it.  Getting an “I’m sorry” in those exact words wasn’t quite the impossibility of getting the same from Bill, but it was certainly close.  Whatever problem he had with Mabel, it was obviously running deeper than anything he was coming up with.

“Tomorrow.  He said I should just play nice with the humans today.” He paused and finally turned around, but his gaze remained on the floor.  “Papa…  You love me and dad, right?”

Warning bells went off in Dipper’s head.

“What?”  He put the journal down and stood up.  While he wasn’t the tallest man alive, by any means, he was still a good head taller than his son.  He walked over to where he stood and gently lifted his face up, so their eyes finally met.  “Of course I do.  Who told you otherwise?”

“No one,” he mumbled, and Dipper had to believe him.  It was incredibly easy to sense Nicolas’s emotions.  He practically radiated them.  Right now, the pervading emotion was a mixture of loneliness and jealousy.  He almost kicked himself—of course.  He’d never been around anyone but himself and Bill, and now he’d been away from Bill longer than he ever had, and Dipper’s time and energy was being taken up by his family…

Well, there was one other factor in that equation, but he didn’t bring it up.  He knew Nicolas didn’t want to think about it.

Sometimes it was easy to forget that Nicolas was still very young.  He hated even _thinking_ that his son was an animal, but he had to admit that tengu were a lot like them in how the children grew to the adolescent stage very quickly.  But unlike animals, Nicolas had emotional growth to deal with too, and perhaps having parents who were the only talking company in his entire life had stunted that.

It wasn’t hard to decide what his next step would be.

“Well, if we have a day before it happens…  Come on, I have an idea.”

\---

Mabel looked around the kitchen, trying to figure out what she could cook for breakfast for so many people.  Pacifica was very picky about her food being healthy, and she honestly didn’t know what things goblins even ate.

“Aaah!  W-what is that?”  The shriek that came from the family room probably could have awoken people in California.  Mabel bounded out of the kitchen and almost died.  Of laughter.

Nicolas was perched on the TV like a frightened bird, and Mabel could say for certain now that he was definitely related to those goblins on the mountain.  She was rather impressed by his wingspan, actually.  But seeing him so terrified of a _pig_ …

“Oh, that’s just Waddles.  He’s my pet!”  She walked over and scooped up him up.  “Haven’t you ever seen a pig before?”

“There were no pigs where we were living,” Dipper explained, looking like he wanted to laugh too.  He held his hand out and Nicolas slowly, _very_ slowly, came down.  He didn’t let go of Dipper’s hand, and it was absolutely endearing.  Mabel didn’t regret her decision staying up half of the night after all!

“I-I read about pigs,” Nicolas muttered, not taking his wide eyes off Waddles.  “They weren’t that _big_.”

Well, she did suppose Waddles had gotten a bit fatter over the years.  But he was a happy pig, so who cared?  …Well, her back did, so he set Waddles down and pet his head.

“He’s super friendly and he won’t hurt you!  You can even pet him.  Just, um, don’t eat him, okay?”  Nicolas let go of Dipper’s hand and glared at her, but it didn’t hold as much vitriol as she supposed it could have.

“Look, I know what I look like, but I prefer my meat to be cooked, _thanks_.”  He looked down at Waddles, who oinked at him.  He jumped at the unexpected noise, his face flushing when he realized what he was doing.  Then he reached down and gently touched Waddles’ head, mindful of his talons the entire time.

Dipper and Mabel both shared a look.

“Hey Mabel, is the diner still open?”  Seeing where he was going, and finding the prospect of diner pancakes much better than cooking when Stan had nothing of note in his kitchen, she nodded enthusiastically.

“You bet!  Let me get Pacifica and Grunkle Stan!”

She rushed out, going to Stan’s room first, knocking loudly and yelling for him.  However, no answer came.  She bit her lip—he was old, but certainly he wasn’t…  She turned the knob and slowly opened the door.

The room was empty.

It was odd, but she remembered his words about having Wendy and Soos taking things away from the shack.  Maybe this had something to do with that?  She didn’t know, but he wasn’t _dead_ , so she went to her makeshift bedroom.

“Pacifica!  Get up!”  She jumped on the futon, laughing when her girlfriend practically squawked at the disruption.  “We’re going to the diner pancakes with Dipper and Nicolas!  Come on, come on, come on!”

“Argh, you’re the only one obsessed with those pancakes…”  Pacifica got off the futon regardless, rubbing her sleepy eyes.  It was cute, and Mabel couldn’t stop herself from pulling her in for a kiss.  It seemed to wake her up, if her wandering hands were an indication.  Still, she had family waiting…

“Sloppy make outs later, pancakes now!”  Pacifica huffed, but agreed to get dressed and be out in ten minutes.  She was, after all, a professional at getting ready in a rush.  Mabel grabbed a small bundle and ran back out to where she’d left the others.  Waddles was on his back, while Nicolas rubbed his stomach.    Dipper watched the scene fondly.

Maternal instincts hit her like a ton of bricks.  Dipper had a child.  Not human, but his child all the same.  Maybe he could help her find a mythical creature to take in like he had…?  Then she saw just how sharp those talons near her pig were and decided maybe she was better off adopting a human baby after all.  At the moment, she’d just have to settle for being an aunt.

“Hey Nicolas, I have something for you!”  He looked up from Waddles and stood up, eyeing her wearily.  She grinned and held up her creation—a sweater.  “Ta-dah!  I made it for you last night.  It even has snapping buttons in the back so your wings won’t get in the way.”

She hadn’t known what to expect exactly, but cold defiance was up there.  Maybe telling her that the glitter was way too gaudy.  But he looked like he was going to burst out crying, and it was rather shocking.

“H-hey, if you don’t like it, you don’t—”

“No!” he cried, snatching it from her retreating hands.  He stared at the pattern.  It was a green sweater that matched his eyes—well, the eye color his disguise used at least—with a big sparkly crow on the front.  She’d picked that, because, well, the obvious reason.  “I…  It’s an adequate gift.  I accept it.”

Mabel had a knack for knowing a person’s measurements on sight alone, and as he put on the oddly shaped sweater and clasped the back shut, she felt very accomplished.  But that still didn’t stop her worry, especially with the concerned look Dipper had.

Dipper mouthed one word to her— _Later_.  She nodded, and they all waited in silence for Pacifica.

\---

“His pet?”

“Familiar, but yes, basically.”  He and Mabel stood outside of an expensive looking store.  Breakfast had been good, despite Pacifica complaining about how the maple smell would never come out of her clothes and Mabel eating her body weight in pancakes and Nicolas glaring at every single person in the diner who wasn’t at his table.  Overall, he’d say the morning had been a success.  “I think that’s why he calmed down when you told him Waddles was your pet.”

“I thought familiars are a witch thing.”  He wouldn’t admit that he had too, back when Bill had first brought the injured spirit into their home.  _He_ was the magical twin, after all.

“Usually,” he explained, “but technically, anyone who practices magic can have one.  They’re spirits, after all.  They’ll pledge themselves to anyone who can give them a good bargain.”  Again, he thought about his own experiences and wondered how a tengu managed to have such a benign relationship while he was bond to a demon.  Not that either of them were complaining.

“What did he do to get his?”

‘ _Dad, he’s for me?  Really?  Oh, thank you so much!_ ’

Dipper smiled at the memory of a young Nicolas, looking like a child of ten, bouncing up and down at the prospect of having a familiar.  He treated that crow like gold.

“Nothing really.  Bill just brought him in one day.  He’d been hurt, and Bill thought that Nicolas could use someone else to help him out since we still had work to do ourselves.  You know, so he wouldn’t be lonely.”  Neither he nor his son really had friends growing up, but at least he’d had Mabel, then Bill.  He’d been relieved when Nicolas no longer ever needed to be alone.

“Why isn’t he here?” Mabel asked, looking around as if she’d find a crow hiding somewhere.  “Or did he…?”

“He didn’t die.”  He didn’t want to think about the chaos that would ensue if Nicolas lost his precious familiar.  Tornadoes over three continents, he assumed.  “Bill just thought he should stay in the citadel.  I thought about all the people who might see a spirit that looked like a crow and try to shoot it, and I agreed.”  Mabel nodded; there were, after all, plenty of crazy hicks in town.

“So…”  Her smile was forced. She was good though; he only knew because she wouldn’t look him in the eye.  “You aren’t planning on staying?”

“Not forever, no.”

“Oh.”  He felt guilty for being so curt, but he couldn’t say everything he wanted to.  Not yet.  Certainly not in the middle of town.  “Well, will I be able to visit now that you learned all your big ol’ magic-y things?”

“I’m not sure that would be a good idea,” he laughed nervously, thinking about the location Bill had decided on for their home.  For a demon, it was probably nothing, but Dipper remembered looking outside a window for the first time and almost peeing his pants.

He immediately pushed away thoughts of Bill _actually_ making him pee himself later that night, insisting he do it so that their first night together in the physical world matched the dreamscape.  He was glad Bill could simply snap his fingers and clean up, because things had gotten very messy that night.

“Aw, what?  Why not?”  She crossed her arms and pouted, looking twelve again.  He chuckled at the nostalgic sight.  “I mean, if you live in a _citadel_ , there must be a town, right?  I could stay there and—”

“Mabel, listen.  Where I am isn’t exactly safe.  No one lives in the surrounding town at all, and you could walk for days and not see a single person.”  He’d tried it, once and only once, when he’d been angry at Bill.  He was saved after two days, and Bill didn’t stop simultaneously berating him and praising him for not dying for days afterwards.  Dipper never tried to leave again; after that, he’d never wanted to.  “But the monsters?  Well, why do you think Bill picked that place?”

“To keep you isolated from humanity?”  He was taken back by the sweet, innocent tone she used while asking that.  Of course, the thought had crossed his mind when he was younger, right around that time he’d run off.  Now he knew better, and he forced down his annoyance at her line of thought.

“ _No_.  Because there are lots of demons and spirits and cryptids around to test my powers against.”  He couldn’t even begin to keep track of how many he’d defeated over the years.  He didn’t have to—Bill proudly held all of that knowledge.  “Even with all I’ve learned, and with as strong as Nicolas’s magic is, we don’t go out alone.”  He knew firsthand why that was a bad idea—he would have had the scars to prove it if Bill hadn’t taught him healing magic early on—and Nicolas had never cared much for leaving the comforts of home.

“Don’t as in won’t, or _can’t_?”  His eyes widened momentarily, before they narrowed into a pointed glare.  Where was this all coming from suddenly?  This wasn’t good, not at all.

“Why are you being like this?  Did Grunkle Stan—?”

“Papa!  _Look_.”

Any argument was washed away when a large, polished amethyst was shoved in his face.  Nicolas looked positively ecstatic.

“It’s very… shiny.”  And large.  It must have cost quite a lot.  “Is it for—?”

“Yes.”  He glanced over at Mabel, clutching the gem to his chest.  “You know he loves purple gems.  He’ll _adore_ this one.”

“It was nice of Pacifica to buy it for you.”  Nicolas glanced back at the shop, then rolled his eyes.

 “As if I needed _her_ to buy something for me.”  Dipper, knowing he didn’t have any money, raised an eyebrow.

“So how did you pay for it then?”  Nicolas’s eyes narrowed, but Dipper wasn’t going to be intimidated by his own son.  If he got through the toddler years, he wasn’t going to lose steam now.  After a few moments, Nicolas pouted and held the gem tighter.

“I _didn’t_ , but it didn’t belong to the store anyway.” Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Mabel watching the scene, an unreadable look on her face.  He was tempted to read her mind—he didn’t have a lot of experience doing it with humans, but he still wasn’t sure it was something he was comfortable doing anyway.  “It fell off some fat old lady’s necklace, and she left without noticing it, so I picked it off the floor and kept it.  Finders keepers, right?”

He saw Pacifica come out of the shop, and though he couldn’t hear them, he knew Mabel was saying something that was not exactly _approving_.  He supposed that she considered what Nicolas had done was still stealing.  Why couldn’t this have happened when she _wasn’t_ around?

“Nicolas…”

“It’s not even for me,” he stressed, his voice conveying his growing desperation for the stone.  He remembered a little boy begging his parents to spend time with him—a boy who was over the moon to be given his precious familiar.  “It’s even purple and shiny, but it’s for _him_ , not me.  _Please_ Papa, let me keep it.”

It was a very rare thing, hearing his son say please and mean it.  Or to think of someone ahead of himself.  How could he possibly say no to him?

“…Okay,” he relented, reaching out to ruffle Nicolas’s hair, “but if anyone else asks, you picked it up because you saw that woman drop it and wanted to return it.”

Nicolas didn’t even complain as he used his free hand to smooth down his hair.  It was apparently a day for miracles.

“You’re the best, Papa!  _Thank you_.”

The brilliant smile on that normally cynical face was worth all of the obstacles he’d faced since they’d arrived.

“You’re welcome.”

Dipper didn’t look over this time, but could almost _feel_ Mabel’s stare on his back.  He closed his eyes and opened his senses—oh yes, she didn’t look very happy at all.  Pacifica just looked a bit bemused.  This wasn’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped, but he wasn’t going to give up.  He still had time.  He’d make her see.

\---

They returned to the Mystery Shack, only to see an interesting sight.  Namely, many people in colorful, tacky t-shirts with floppy hats, wearing flip-slops and cameras around their necks.  It was something Dipper hadn’t seen in a long time, but one he’d seen many times over his summer in Gravity Falls.

“Grunkle Stan, Wendy, and Soos must still be gone.”  Dipper nodded, knowing there would never be such a crowd if Stan were around to be taking their money.

“Should we do it ourselves?”  Not that he wanted to, be he remembered Mabel had liked helping out back in the day.  “I mean, I know Grunkle Stan won’t want to lose money, but—”

Before he knew what was happening, Pacifica practically leapt over to them and grabbed Nicolas by the arm.

“Look, get me out of here before Mabel ropes me into helping and I’ll give you all the gemstones you can hold.”

Nicolas gazed at the crowd, looking completely put out by the very thought of having to be by all those humans.  Dipper couldn’t even blame him, and he didn’t even have a predisposition to dislike humanity.  After only a few seconds, he looked up at Pacifica and grinned.

“…You’re quite acceptable, for a human.”

In a flash, a fan materialized in his free hand, and in a gust of wind, the two disappeared.

The twins stood there silently, looking between the spot their son and girlfriend had just been, then over to the crowd.

“They’re gone.”  Mabel nodded, wincing as they heard a kid complain that he was going to throw up, followed shortly by the sound of him doing just that.

“…Want to turn around and pretend we never saw this?”

“ _Yes_.”

\---

It hadn’t been that hard to sneak into her manor, between all the times she’d snuck out growing up and having a creature with her who could move at superhuman speeds.  She certainly didn’t want to be caught bringing a teenage boy inside; she _definitely_ didn’t want to think that her parents would likely be happy that there was a male in her room instead of Mabel.

They reached her room without incident, and considering he didn’t look all that impressed, she imagined the citadel he lived in was akin to a castle.  His eyes did, however, light up when he noticed her jewelry.

“You saved me,” she began as she snapped open a stuffed jewelry box, containing things she never wore or had broken, “so a promise is a promise.  Take some.”

He was talons deep in the jewelry immediately, and Pacifica thought back to what Mabel had told her and what she’d heard herself.  Nicolas was very generous when it came to his pet.  Or familiar, whatever.  Everything he pulled out was judged on how much a _crow_ would like it, and ten years ago, Pacifica might have laughed at the very notion.

Her thoughts drifted back to her girlfriend as she waited for Nicolas to claim his reward.  Despite what Mabel said about how much she trusted Dipper, Pacifica wasn’t fooled.  She was nervous about something, and she didn’t even seem to be aware of it sometimes.  Whatever was going on with the demon, it was messing with Mabel’s mind.

Dipper and Nicolas didn’t seem to be completely messed up though…

“Oh, this one looks like fire!  He’ll _love_ this one. ”

…Strange, but not _evil_.

\---

“So, what did you all get up to today?”

After a day of walking around town with Dipper—both keeping topics away from what Dipper had been up to and completely about Mabel’s misadventures—they finally returned to find the tourists gone, Nicolas in the attic fawning over gems, and Stan watching TV.  Dipper retreated to the attic early, while Mabel sat on the sofa and pretended to watch trashy horror movies.

“We all went to breakfast, then Pacifica and Nicolas went off to look at shiny rocks, so me and Dipper just sort of walked around town and talked.”  She wisely didn’t mention the bus of tourists.  “Where were you?”

“I, uh, just had to make sure some things were safe.”

She glanced over to him, and she was concerned by the worry on his face.  There were obviously things he knew that she didn’t.  Not for the first time, she wondered if she should tell him what she knew.

 “Things you don’t want Bill Cipher to see?”

He pulled off his glasses to rub his eyes, staring at them for a few moments before he put the back on.  He didn’t have to say a thing; she already knew that was a _yes_.

“Mabel, has your brother said anything weird?”  He paused, softly chuckling to himself.  “I mean, weirder than usual.”

“I…”  She knew she should tell.  She should have years ago.  “I don’t…”

“Mabel, please.”  His voice was strained, and her worry grew.  There was definitely something wrong.  “This could be very important.”

Could she trust him to help her brother?

…Yes, her heart told her she _could_.

“Just, you know, last night he said he and Bill were married, and they’re bonded or something and he knows magic, and I’m not sure they really know how to raise a kid, and—”

“Wait just a minute.  Bonded?  _Married_?” A range of emotions passed over his face, from disbelief to sadness to anger.  “I’ll _kill_ Cipher.  He lost the chance to have a perfect little pet once, so he goes after Dipper?  I oughta—”

He stopped himself abruptly, breathing heavily as he glared at a demon he couldn’t see.  She hadn’t seen him so upset in ages.

“Grunkle Stan,” she swallowed, her throat suddenly dry, “did he… try to do that to you?”

“…Not me.”  He stood up, raising a hand to stop any more questions.  She had many, but she couldn’t possibly ask anymore when he was so hurt.  “Mabel, be careful.  I know you want to trust Dipper, but it might be too late for that.”

“Okay…”  She tried to smile, but it was hard when she didn’t have much to be happy for.  “I’ll be careful.”

But as he said goodnight and headed off to his bedroom, all she could think was that being careful was all she could do, because she _did_ trust Dipper.

It was just too bad she couldn’t trust Bill.

\---

“Tomorrow, huh?”

While it wasn’t completely unheard of, Dipper being clothed in his dreams was a rare occurrence when his demon mate was around.  Now though, Dipper’s dream body not only had clothes, but Bill wasn’t doing anything lewd.  They merely sat in the void, Dipper gazing out into the ether and Bill lounging in his lap.

“That’s right!  Tomorrow’s the day when we get everything we’ve worked for!”

All of their plans would make or break in the next twenty four hours.  It was too soon; it wasn’t soon enough.  He didn’t know what to think.  All throughout the years, he’d been so sure things with Mabel would go smoothly, but now…

“Yeah.”

Bill wiggled around in Dipper’s lap until he was facing him.  He reached a hand up, and when it wasn’t long enough, he magically lengthened it and poked Dipper’s cheek.

“Hey now, no moping in the mindscape!”  Dipper sighed and scooped Bill up, holding them eye to eye.  Bill was very amused by the action, and he used his still bizarrely long arm to poke Dipper again.  “Tomorrow is a big deal, Pine Tree.  You know I like your paranoid pessimism and all, but I’m not sure now’s the time for that.”

“Mabel and Grunkle Stan don’t trust you.”  That was painfully apparent, but he had expected that.  What he hadn’t counted on was…  “I don’t think they even trust _me_.”

“So?  They don’t need to trust anyone.  They just need to stay out of our way tomorrow.”

Yeah, like that was going to happen.  Once they found out what was going on—because there was no _if_ in this situation—someone would get in the way.  If he was lucky, he’d only have to deal with Mabel and Stan.  That was what bothered him the most—he didn’t want to have to go to their plan B if something went wrong.  But they’d come too far to stop now.

“Well, Pacifica didn’t come back with Nicolas.”  With any luck, she’d be too busy to come back over.  While he didn’t doubt Nicolas would do what it took to reach his goal, he could tell she was a rare human that his son liked.  Giving him all of those free jewels couldn’t have hurt.  “Grunkle Stan was gone all day, and Soos and Wendy never showed up.”

“Good!” he finally ceased his poking and threw his normally sized arms up the in air in celebration.  The little bits of grey confetti were a nice touch.  “That means Stanford _does_ have them, and Nicolas will get to put his training to the test.  And with what’s on the line, he’ll kill an entire town to make this work!”

“But if Grunkle Stan _does_ have them, then couldn’t he be a threat?”  He wasn’t worried for Nicolas or himself, not really.  But Bill was another story all together.  He knew what Stan thought had happened; he knew what Stan blamed Bill for.  “Bill, with all the times he tried to force a summon—”

“I can handle Stanford, so stop worrying that stupid handsome face of yours.”  Dipper rolled his eyes, and Bill laughed in his very obnoxiously Bill-like manner.  “Come on Pine Tree, you’re going to make me die from laughing too much if you keep that up!  We’re gonna be _fine_.”

“Why, Mr. Cipher, keep talking like that and I’ll think you might like me.”  He pulled Bill in closer, wrapping his arms around that strange triangular body he adored so much.

“Hmm, well _, Mr. Cipher_ , would it be too clichéd to say _‘In your dreams’_?”

“Yeah, I think it would be,” he laughed as Bill attempted to wink.  It was the most ridiculous thing Dipper thought a one-eyed being could try, but Bill wasn’t one to _not_ do something just because it didn’t make a lick of sense.  “Every demon in the world would probably ridicule you for eternity.”

“Then I guess I’ll just have to bribe you to keep your mouth shut.”  His words were punctuated by one hand slowly running down Dipper’s torso, stopping when he hit his waistband.

“Y-Yeah, you probably should.”

As Bill’s hand slipped down his pants, Dipper didn’t think anymore about the next day.  Or much at all, really.  He certainly wasn’t aware enough to sense someone getting out of bed, whispering that he would make him proud, before climbing out the window and flying off to start everything into motion.

It was the dawn of a new day, and one way or another, everything would soon change.


	9. Chapter 9

The first book had been so easy to take that he thought it was a trap.  Surely, he’d thought, there was no way that old man would have entrusted such an important magical tome to a man who had no magic or mystical artifacts to help guard it.  But taking the journal and getting away had been so ridiculously simple that Nicolas was almost insulted.

And the second one…

“It _worked_.  Oh man, I can’t believe it worked!”  He watched from the rope net that he was caught in as the redhead danced around, pumping her fist in the air.  _This_ was the woman his papa had once been attracted to?  He fought the urge to smirk.  It was no wonder his dad recommended that he play the fool with her.

“Congrats,” he drawled, not paying attention to her so much as the book she clutched with the hand not doing those silly human gestures.  It was much the same as the one he had—like the one his papa had.  “I’m so terribly happy for your momentary victory, _if_ you could really call this little inconvenience that.  It must feel nice to not be a _complete_ failure, huh?”

The woman—Wendy, his papa had called her when they’d first arrived, before she’d been sent away with that journal—glared up at him.  He finally allowed the smirk to overtake his face.  It was really too easy to upset some humans.

“Look kid, I don’t have a problem with _you_ ,” he scoffed; as if he cared what _she_ thought, “but if you want these journals for that demon, then you’d better think again.  You won’t have them!  In fact, I’ll be taking that one you have back.”

“Will you, now?”  He extended a talon that the woman could not see and easily sliced through the rope.  Her triumphant gaze didn’t waver; warning bells that _this_ was a trap went off in his head.  He might not have been as versatile in his magic as his fathers were, but he wasn’t helpless either.  But none of his senses were picking up anything out of the ordinary.  That meant either she was bluffing, or…

He quickly sliced through the ropes, extending his wings to swoop down at her.  He would have laughed at her feeble attempt at running away from him, if time hadn’t been of the essence.  As it were, he tackled her to the ground within seconds, wrenching her around until he could snatch the journal away.

“You dare to make a fool of _me_?” he growled, grabbing her red hair and yanking her head up to force their gazes to meet.  Her eyes were defiant.  “I will _not_ be used as a distraction, you idiotic human!”

“Dipper’s a human too,” she gasped out, still looking far too smug for his tastes.  “And we’re taking him back from that demon.”

There was so much more he wanted to say; so much he wanted to do to her for daring to insinuate his papa needed _rescuing_.  But something was happening back at the shack, so he smacked her head into the ground, satisfied by the loud knock it made.  He’d deal with her later, but now he spread his wings and ran until he had the speed to jump up and begin to fly.

Something was happening to his papa, and _that_ was his top priority.

\---

Bill watched.

He watched Nicolas take the last journal and slam that annoying pest’s skull into the dirt.  It was something he’d wanted to do, long ago.  It was a satisfying sight all the same, and Nicolas would certainly be rewarded for going the extra mile.  Bill supposed that the few stories he _might_ have exaggerated about Wendy trying to steal Dipper away had helped.  If there was one human Nicolas loved unconditionally, it was Dipper.

He watched Stan sneak into the attic, attempting to claim Dipper’s journal.  Unbeknownst to the old man, Bill had left the mindscape hours ago and Dipper was awake, though he pretended to sleep.  It was all part of the plan— _everything_ was part of Bill’s plan.  From the moment Dipper sat up, to Stan’s hand on the journal, to the fact Stan even knew Dipper had it in the first place—it was all Bill’s doing.

Nicolas bursting through the window as both men tried to take the journal?  All according to schedule!  Why, it was very easy for a tengu to get to the journal before either human could react.  Such speedy creatures they were!  He’d certainly made the right decision five years prior.

He watched as Nicolas clutched all three journals tightly, glaring at Stan, accusing him of trying to hurt his family.  He watched Stan claim that they were both being used.  He watched Dipper defend all three of them.  It was all rather cute how protective they were; he liked it.

But there would be plenty of time for his amusing little family later…

Now it was time to stop watching and go play.

\---

Nicolas held the journals for dear life, or rather, the life of another.  Dipper knew what Bill had promised their son, should he succeed, and succeed he had.  Stan kept trying to say things to make either of them change their minds, but none of it mattered.  Soon Bill would be there, and—

“Come on Stanford, lighten up!  I mean, it’s only, what, forty years of work you’ve lost out on by Pine Tree having that journal all this time?”  There was no fanfare—Bill was there, and that was all.  He held out a hand to Nicolas.  “Now, my pretty little bird, let me take those off your hands.”

Nicolas made a move towards Bill, while Stan lunged at the boy.  Dipper didn’t try to stop him—between a demon and a tengu, there was no way Stan could best them with speed.  Stan knew it too, after he missed Nicolas by three feet.  Dipper almost felt bad at the desperation on his great uncle’s face.

“Wait a minute, Cipher!  Just what the hell are you up to?”  Bill didn’t say anything, and Dipper knew he wouldn’t.  Stan turned to Nicolas.  “Come on kid, did you ever even look in those journals?  Cipher has an entry.”

“As if I believe you,” Nicolas snapped, his body tensed up in case he had to dodge again.  “Besides, I don’t even know who wrote them, so why should I believe anything they say?”

“I know who wrote them, and so does Cipher.”  Stan turned to Dipper.  “Do you?  Did your “ _husband_ ” ever bother to let you know who you’re a replacement for?”

Dipper didn’t know who the author was.  He’d asked, but Bill had told him it wasn’t important.  He supposed that for their plan, no, it wasn’t.  However, he’d always wanted to know.

“…I don’t, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Of course not.  Because the author was once a boy who Cipher offered all the magic and knowledge he wanted, if only he made a deal to be bound to him!  But _he_ had the brains to say no!”  He glared at Bill with a decades-long hatred.  “And when he said no, you just played the role of friend until you could stab him in the back.  Then you found Dipper and started all over again.  If only I’d had that last journal I could have—”

He was cut off by Nicolas suddenly rushing to Bill, handing the three journals over.  Stan chocked back a sob, while Bill’s laughter filled the room.

“But you didn’t, did you?  My little Pine Tree did.”  The journals floated above Bill, and he never stopped making eye contact with Stan.  Not even when the journals went up in a burst of blue fire.  “And now you don’t have any.”

“You bastard!”  He leapt at Bill, who merely laughed and teleported away, reappearing next to Dipper.  Nicolas quickly joined them.  “The key to getting Stanley back was in there!  Dipper, the author is my twin brother!  Bill is using you!  _Wake up_!”

Dipper watched his great uncle begin to cry.  He had no idea Stan had a twin, or that the twin wrote the journals.  He’d certainly never heard anything about Bill offering to bond with Stan’s brother.  But he did know one thing…

“I don’t care.”  Stan looked up, pure disbelief on his face.  “Even if he’s using me, what does it matter?  We are bound—we need each other.  And I trust him, so _I don’t care_.”

“You can’t trust a demon, kid!”  He said it as if it were all so simple.  How little he understood.    “He’s lying!”

He remembered something Bill had said to him long ago—something he hadn’t given Dipper a reason to doubt.

“Demons keep their promises.”  He turned away, stopping only to pick up his bag.  The journal’s absence after all that time stung, but he knew the plan.  This was necessary.  “Nicolas, get your things and come downstairs.  We still have work to do.”

He walked out the door, and halfway down the stairs he felt the magic that signaled Bill teleporting Stan outside the building and putting up a barrier.  No one was getting in now, not without Bill allowing it.  Of course, there was still one more person in the shack…

Mabel was there as he descended, standing at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes filled with grief and uncertainty.

Now was the time.  He had to ask _now_ , before it was too late.

“Mabel, I know you must have heard most of that.  I mean, this place is old and the sound travels too much for its own good, right?”  She didn’t crack a smile.  “Okay, to the point then…  Stan has a machine hidden somewhere in this place.  With it, the universe will be at our fingertips.  We can do anything, go anywhere!  All you have to do…”

He held out his hand, blue flames erupting from his skin.

“…is trust me.”


	10. Chapter 10

Mabel had been brushing her hair, considering what she was going to do that day, when she’d first heard the signs of a struggle.  She’d rushed out to the stairwell, but she couldn’t bring herself to make the climb to the attic—not when she felt that great surge of power.

_Bill_.  Bill Cipher finally took the stage.

Everyone was shouting loudly enough for her to hear almost everything, and it was more than she ever wanted to hear.  Her heart was heavy for Stan, but perhaps even more so for her brother.  How could he not see what Bill was doing to him?

Then Dipper was before her, holding out his hand, asking her to trust him.

She wasn’t so sure she could anymore.

“Ah, Dipper,” she tried not to look at the flames that engulfed his hands, “it’s not that I don’t trust you…”

He frowned at her, slowly lowering his hand when she didn’t take it.  The flames didn’t go out though—if anything, they flared out more.  She took a deep, shaky breath and smiled the best she could.

“Then what?” he asked, his voice tense.  “You trust Grunkle Stan more?”

“It’s not that either!”  She glanced up the stairs.  Where was Bill?  What was going on?  “I’m just not sure that Bill—”

“So that’s it,” he snapped, and much to her relief, the flames finally vanished.  “I don’t know what Grunkle Stan has told you, but don’t you think I know how he’s treated me?  Don’t you think _I_ know better than _him_ if I was taken advantage of?”

“Dipper, I heard everything you all said!  How can you think that Bill isn’t using you?”  Dipper didn’t say anything, and she didn’t know if that was a good sign or not.  Either way, she had to act fast.  “No matter what he promised you, he could have waited.  He didn’t have to take you away from everyone, promise you things…  You were _twelve_ , and he was having sex with you in your dreams!  Tell me, how long did he wait before it was happening when you were awake?  Even if he’s a demon, he obviously doesn’t care about what’s good for a human.  Please Dipper, whatever’s going on, it’s not too late.  You don’t have to do what he says!”

Mabel wasn’t one to give up hope.  She hadn’t for almost a decade, and she wasn’t about to start now.  However, she wasn’t expecting a miracle either, so when Dipper’s eyes narrowed, she wasn’t all that surprised.

…The smile he gave her shortly after _was_.

“ It’s alright.  I know Grunkle Stan must have filled your head full of lies.  You know, I was going to come see you after a few years, but then we found Nicolas…”  He closed his eyes, his features calm.  “Look, I won’t give up on you, but I can see you won’t help us with this part.  I’ll see you soon, okay?”

He opened his eyes, and Mabel wished that she’d seen something there.  Something to prove Bill was forcing him to do this.  But there was nothing.  Whatever had happened with Bill, it was too far ingrained in him to stop with a few words.

He snapped his fingers, and Mabel no longer saw her brother.  She whipped around, only to see her great uncle staring at the shack, a melancholy expression on his face.  She turned back to the shack, worried by the barely visible electrical force surrounding the building.  Dipper was a lot stronger than she’d thought, and with Bill behind everything…

“Grunkle Stan,” she called out softly, not wanting to upset him further, but needing to know, “do you have any idea what they’re up to?”

He pulled off his glasses and rubbed his face wearily.

“…There’s a machine under the shack.  I was going to use it to bring Stanley back, but I never got the journal from Dipper to get everything in place.  If Cipher gets his hands on it, there’s no telling what he could have in mind for it.”

“But…”  She thought back to what she’d heard, looking desperately for a silver lining.  “Oh, but it sounded like Bill destroyed them, right?  So he shouldn’t be able to get it working!”

“It’s Cipher we’re talking about,” he muttered darkly.  “He wouldn’t destroy them without a way to get the information some other way.  He must have a plan.”

“What can we do now?”

He slowly shook his head, and her heart dropped.

“I don’t know.”

\---

Nicolas quickly dumped the jewelry he’d received into a pocket of his bag, then placed the sweater he’d gotten into the main section.  He wasn’t sure exactly how he felt about his aunt, but he had to admit that the sweater was nice.  It reminded him of his most trusted companion, and he could never hate anything that reminded him of such a thing.

He turned to his dad, about to say he was ready, when he felt the impending teleportation magic crackling in the air.

“Alright kiddo, time for you to go back home for a while.”

“W-what?”  He clutched his bag, taken by surprise.  True, his part in all of this was over, but he hadn’t thought he’d have to leave already.  He could still help!  “But Dad, what if—”

“With all that worrying you’re going to turn into Pine Tree!” he teased.  “Everything’s going to be _fine_!  I’m here now, right?  Besides, I need you to make sure those journals are safe, and I know Stanford doesn’t know any spells to summon a youkai.  You can help the most by keeping them safe until we need them.”

The surprises just kept coming.  Nicolas hadn’t even noticed any magic other than what his dad had seemingly performed.  He couldn’t wait for the day he was even a fraction as talented as his family.  Such power he’d been adopted into!

“So you… sent them home and just _pretended_ to destroy them?”

“Got it in one!  A deal’s a deal, so I couldn’t burn the things even if I wanted to!”  He’d only heard bits and pieces of how his parents met, but he did know that a deal had been made, though his papa was scarce with details.  He had a feeling that the parts being left out were things he really didn’t want to know about his fathers anyway.  “But I sure fooled Stanford.  Oh, the look on his face—beautiful!”

Nicolas rolled his eyes as Bill cackled.

“Okay, Dad, yes, I know, suffering is hilarious.  _Anyway_ , I’ll go.”  Not that he had much say in the matter if his dad was insistent.  “But you have to let me know if you or Papa need me!”

“Of course, of course,” Bill waved off his concern.  Deep down, Nicolas knew they’d never need his help, but he longed for the day when he could be genuinely useful, not just a way to get thing done faster.  “Oh, and hey, good job out there.  You did everything I asked, so you’ve got a little present when you get back.”

“Really?”  The delight of praise soon turned to excitement as he realized what his dad meant.  “Oh Dad, t-thank you!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m the best demonic dad ever, I know!  Now…”  His cane popped into his hand, and Nicolas braced himself.  “See ya!”

Nicolas, despite having been raised around demonic magic, never quite got used to having his dad’s teleportation thrust upon his.  Or rather, the cane jab that tended to accompany it.  He rubbed his arm as he stood up, realizing he was in the parlor.  Sure enough, three old books were sitting neatly on the sofa.

He thought back to what Stan had asked and picked up one of the books that hadn’t been in his papa’s possession.  Carefully, he leafed through it, but he didn’t see anything about dream demons.  His curiosity rising, he took the last one, stopping when he saw a familiar picture.

He read the entry, then read what was written in the strange ink.  He assumed it was something humans couldn’t see without outside aid.  _Do not summon at all costs_.  He smirked as he put the journal down.  Well, maybe that was what the old man got for constantly trying new ways to summon his dad away over the years.  Nothing was worse than trying to learn new magic and having to stop and watch your dad struggle to ignore the pull threatening to call him away.

It was sort of sad that he’d never see that Pacifica woman again, he thought as he put his bag down next to the journals, feeling the weight of jewels inside.  Perhaps his papa wasn’t the _only_ good human…  Though he’d be damned if he ever admitted it out loud.

He sighed and shook his head, telling himself to stop being ridiculous and wasting time.  There was only one thing he wanted to do at that moment, and standing around wasn’t going to help matters.

Everything he’d done, he’d done for the life of another.  The life he cared about more than his own…  His excitement was only trumped by his fear of the unknown.

“Nicolas.”  His golden eyes widened at the voice.  He’d only heard that voice projected into his head before, but there it was, hitting his ears.  Still, he didn’t turn around.  This was too much…!  “Nicolas, you silly child, look at me.”

His heart beat wildly, but he did as the voice said.  Though he’d later deny that his eyes filled with tears, he could never lie about how utterly joyful he’d been to see the man standing before him.  His dad had kept his promise, just as Nicolas knew he would.  His beloved familiar had been granted the power to take on a human form, and it gave them both a chance to have a life _together_.

“Ominis, I…”  He threw himself into the taller, older man’s arms.  He hadn’t known what his familiar would look like in a humanoid body, but he certainly wasn’t complaining.  Short, sandy blond hair, light brown eyes, a tall, lean body…  He wasn’t like the muscular men Nicolas had seen on TV, but he wouldn’t change a thing.  “I missed you.”

“As did I.”  He drew his arms around Nicolas, who pressed himself closer, barely able to believe this was happening.  “Master Cipher said you did an excellent job.  I thank you for what you’ve done.”

“You don’t have to thank me.  Isn’t it pretty selfish to want the one I love to be able to hold me?”  He reached up and ran a hand against Ominis’s face.  “But you’re welcome, all the same.  Now don’t you think it’s time you kiss me?  There’s a lot for us to get through before my parents get back…”

“How could I ever deny my beloved master?”

As Ominis leaned down and gave him his first kiss, Nicolas let his worries slip away.  His parents would be fine, and he was going to enjoy himself very much in their absence.

\---

“You sent Shooting Star out.”  It wasn’t a question, but he nodded anyway.

“And you sent Nicolas home.”

“I powered up Ominis before I came.  The kid will be happier with him than hanging around here.”  Dipper shivered as Bill opened up his emotional state to him.  It seemed that the little bluff with the journals had turned the sadistic demon on.  “I imagine he’s already getting fucked silly by that crow.  Precisely what I’d like to be doing with _you_ …”

“Bill, don’t talk about our son like that if you want to have sex.  It’s weird.”  And he was saying with as someone who had nothing but weird sex.  “Besides, shouldn’t we find that machine and—”

He cut off with a low moan.  Bill hadn’t touched him, but the images that were being projected into his mind were _maddening_.  Bill had certainly never lied when he’d said that a lack of genitalia wouldn’t stop him from being able to satisfy.

“Hmm, you don’t look like you’re in any shape to search for anything, Pine Tree.  Except maybe a vibrator.  Remember the time I made you complete your lessons with that vibrator up your butt for _hours_?  And you had to wear the cock ring?  You were a drooling mess!  Good times!”  The memory almost made his knees buckle.  “But we do need to get this over with, so…”

Dipper cried out at the sudden vibrating in his ass, and he sank down to his knees.

“B-Bill, you asshole, you—”

“Hmm, if you can talk, this thing isn’t up your pretty little butt enough!”  Dipper felt the magic humming as it pushed the bullet vibrator snug against his prostate.   Sure enough, he couldn’t talk—he couldn’t even think.  “And since I’m the best husband ever, I’ll even make sure you don’t have to walk around in sticky pants!”

Dipper barely heard the words, but he did look down to see Bill—who had that telling pink hue to him—was unzipping his pants and tugging erection out.  Dipper knew he wasn’t going to last long with the constant, magical buzzing in his ass, and Bill just barely touched him before he felt himself losing control.

“Hurry up!” Bill’s singsong tone was just a touch breathless.  “We’ve got stuff to do, so come on me!”

Dipper came in heavy spurts upon Bill, his semen sliding down his body, leaving visible trails.  If it had been possible, he would have gotten hard just from the sight.  Bill, still tinged pink, his eye unfocused, covered in cum…

Then Bill composed himself in a flash, snapping his fingers to clean himself off.  It was a pity to see a clean, collected Bill float off his lap, but they really _did_ have to get to work.  A quickie would simply have to suffice.

“Wait,” he realized as he tucked himself back in his pants, “what about the vibrator?”

“What about it?”

“ _Bill_!”

“Alright, alright!”  With another snap, the full sensation in his ass was gone.  “Sheesh, Pine Tree, no sense of adventure!”

Dipper stood up unsteadily, shaking his head.  He was quite sure that his “sense of adventure” was much higher than a normal humans.  One didn’t agree to bind themselves to a demon without a _little_ sense of wonder in them.

“Whatever you say, Bill.”  Once his legs no longer felt like jelly, Dipper moved forwards, trying to sense where the machine might be.  He’d been trying off and on since he’d arrived, but he hadn’t found anything yet.  All he kept coming back to was a different machine altogether, and—

He stopped and thought for a moment, before heading to the vending machine.  Maybe his instincts weren’t off after all.  Bill following silently behind him, rather than giving some smart comment about him wasting their time, cemented his hunch.  Surely, there was some sort of secret code to be cracked.  Maybe something to decipher…

With a burst of energy, he tossed it aside with telekinesis, revealing a passageway.

“Impressive.”  Bill let out a low whistle, clapping his hands together.  “That usually leaves you…  Oh.  Completely drained.  Nice job, Pine Tree.  Who were you trying to impress exactly? Was it _me_?”

Dipper ignored the teasing tone and slumped against the doorframe, catching his breath.  This was different from the breathlessness he’d just felt, and he fully acknowledged that it had been a bad idea to try that so soon.  But he’d done it, and that was enough for him.

“Trust me, the sadistic pleasure you get from this is enough to get me back on my feet before you know it.”  Bill only laughed; it wasn’t as if he would deny it.  “So…  This is it.”

“You bet.  We walk down there and get that machine pumping, and this will all be worth it.”  Bill paused, getting that crinkle in his eye that told Dipper he was grinning.  “But are you so sure that Shooting Star won’t try to stop you?”

Dipper pushed himself from the wall, giving the demon an even stare.

“I _know_ she won’t.”

He walked down the passageway, Bill floating behind him and laughing.


	11. Chapter 11

The first order of business had been to find Soos and Wendy, which was easy enough—they’d been on their way to the Mystery Shack anyway.  Then Mabel used Wendy’s cellphone—hers was still in the shack, along with all of her other possessions—to call Pacifica.  Luckily for them, the Northwests sans Pacifica were out that day, so they didn’t have to brainstorm out in the woods.

“I just can’t believe that little snot smashed my head in the ground,” Wendy complained, rubbing her head gently.  Pacifica had given her painkillers after Wendy shared her story, but they apparently hadn’t kicked in yet.  At least, Mabel was relieved to think, she hadn’t been seriously injured.

“I bet Bill told him about Dipper’s old crush on you.”  And with as possessive as Bill seemed to be, it was probably something the demon really didn’t like.  “Actually, I bet he lied to Nicolas about it, if he was so violent with you.  I mean, he hasn’t physically hurt anyone else.”

“The kid mostly likes to run his mouth, so Cipher probably did fudge the details.”  As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Stan’s eyes suddenly widened.  “Wait a minute, that’s it!  _The kid_!”

“Err, can we summon him?”  Soos asked, and Mabel thought back to all the failed attempts at summoning Bill.  She hadn’t been around for even a fraction of the summons they tried, but she bet if Bill had found a way not to be summoned, he’d find a way to make sure his child couldn’t be either.

“I, uh, I don’t know how to summon a youkai,” he admitted, scratching the back of his head, “and we don’t have the time to learn.”

“But he’s got a familiar, right?”  At Stan’s questioning stare, she remembered that her great uncle hadn’t been around anytime the crow had come up in conversation.  She tried not to notice the glare Pacifica was sending her way.  Her girlfriend just couldn’t understand how dangerous this situation was.  “He has a familiar, like a witch.  It’s a crow.  Can we summon a familiar?”

“It’s not the same as a demon summoning, but I read about them when I was trying to find a way to summon Cipher.”  Stan’s face slowly turned from frustrated to hopeful.  “If we can get the kid’s crow, we can probably get the kid to come out here.  He could be our ticket inside.”

“He fights dirty,” Wendy reminded him, gesturing to her head.  “If he got his familiar away from us before we made a deal, we could be in trouble.  And who says he’ll even _keep_ a deal?”

“Oh, he’ll keep a deal.  Especially if we can keep a leash on his familiar.  There’s just one problem…”  Mabel could think of a _few_ problems, actually, but she said nothing.  They had nothing better to try, so she needed to stay positive.  “We need to know the familiar’s name.  Did anyone hear him say it?”

Mabel hadn’t—she only knew that the familiar was a male crow.  Everyone murmured that they had no idea, but Mabel found it very curious that Pacifica was fidgeting ever so slightly.  If anyone would know the name, Pacifica would definitely be it.  They’d been alone a few times, and Nicolas actually seemed to grudgingly like her.

She assumed Nicolas had avoided saying his familiars name for just the reason they wanted to know it, but if he had inadvertently let it slide, Pacifica was their only chance.  She also thought, however, that maybe Pacifica’s sympathy for Nicolas might make her not so eager to share.  Not that Mabel didn’t understand, but she really needed to get to Dipper before he made a mistake that he couldn’t take back.

“Is everyone _really_ sure?” she asked, making sure to lock her eyes with her girlfriend’s.  “Even if you aren’t sure it was a name, it could help to know if he said anything suspicious…”

Pacifica still looked very reluctant, so Mabel pulled out her big guns—the sad puppy eyes.  She quivered her bottom lip for added effect.  Finally, Pacifica crossed her arms and huffed.

“You have to _promise_ we won’t hurt him!”

“Spill it Northwest,” Stan said gruffly, though there was excitement in his eyes.  “What do you know?”

“I’m serious,” she reiterated, her face showing that she wasn’t fooling around, “we can’t hurt anyone.  He really isn’t a bad kid, and I won’t tell you _anything_ unless you promise not to hurt him or his crow.  He really cares about that thing.”

“We promise, right guys?”  Soos nodded, but Stan and Wendy looked skeptical.  “ _Right guys_?”  They nodded, though with the most reluctance she thought they could muster.

“Okay, well…”  Pacifica looked down at the table, looking as if this was paining her.  Perhaps it was.  Mabel usually liked it when Pacifica cared about the wellbeing of others, but part of her wished Pacifica would rat him out without a moment of hesitation.  Time was of the essence!  “When we were up here, I heard him talking to himself.  He pulled out this really nice garnet and said ‘ _Ominous will love this_.’  And since he doesn’t seem to know anyone but his parents and his familiar, I guess that must be him.”

Everyone was silent for a few moments.

“That’s a weird name.”  There was a chorus of ‘ _yeahs_.’  “But I don’t think we have much choice but to try, huh?”

“Right,” Stan answered, standing up.  “Now, Northwest, you got any chicken blood?”

“What?  _No_!”

“Well, then we’re gonna have to get some stuff in town first.”  He headed out of the room, waving his arm impatiently.  “Let’s hit it kids!”

She heard Wendy complain that she was twenty-four and thus not a _kid_ , but Mabel didn’t chime in.  Instead, she took Pacifica’s hands in hers and smiled.

“Don’t worry, we’ll do this without hurting anyone, you’ll see.”

“I hope so.  My family has hurt enough people.  I really don’t want to follow in their footsteps.”

Mabel didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t upset her further, so she merely squeezed Pacifica’s hand and led them out of the room.  She wasn’t sure she could really _promise_ anything, but she would certainly try.

\---

Nicolas lay half on Ominis, half on his bed, stomach down.  Well, _that_ had certainly been something.  Not a bad something by any means, but as it turned out, two humanoids with wings and claws had to be very careful while having sex.  He knew—though he _really_ didn’t like thinking about it—that his parents must have to get creative when they were intimate.  Well, he thought that he and Ominis did a pretty good job, all things considered.

“I never thought,” Ominis’s voice cut through the comfortable silence, “that we’d ever have the opportunity to do this.”

“Why?  Because you didn’t think Dad would do it?”  He raised his head and nuzzled it against Ominis’s chest.  “He likes you, you know.  He would have fried you and served you to Papa for dinner if he didn’t.”

“Trust me, I know.”  His tone was wry, and Nicolas giggled.  “But I think you’re underestimating how much he cares about you.  You’re his son, and it’s obvious he tries not to upset you.  You have a demon spoiling you rotten.  Not many fathers would agree to give their son’s familiar the power to shapeshift.  Not when it could lead to this.”

He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Nicolas’s lips.  Nicolas smiled into the kiss, making sure to be careful with his teeth.  Ominis had quite a few bite marks and scratches littering his body as it was, and that was with accelerated healing factored in.

“I’ve read that human children without siblings _do_ tend to be spoiled,” he murmured as they pulled apart, though they were still wrapped up in each other.  “I think it worked out just fine though, don’t you think?”

“Oh, perfectly,” he agreed, running his fingers through Nicolas’s hair.  “Now, shall I spoil my young master more…?”

Nicolas was about to agree—very enthusiastically—when Ominis sat up quickly, clutching his chest and breathing heavily.  He felt panic rising within him; what was wrong?  Ominis was bound to him not unlike his fathers were bound and _he_ felt fine, so he doubted this was deadly, but it was definitely concerning.  What could—?

‘ _Shit_ ,’ he thought.  ‘ ** _Fuck_**.’

“I think those idiots back in Oregon are trying to summon you.”  He got up and began gathering their clothes.  As much as he liked seeing Ominis in the nude, if those humans succeeded, he didn’t want _them_ to see _his_ lover.  “They’re doing something wrong, but if they get it right, we need to get ready.”

“How can they do it without my name?” he questioned, pain lacing his voice.  His voice held no judgment, and it made Nicolas feel _terrible_.

“…I _might_ have said it.  Once.  Really quietly.”  He shoved Ominis’s black pants and loose shirt at him.  “I didn’t mean to, but there was only one woman there, and I thought that if I could trust anyone, it was her…”

“It’s fine,” Ominis replied, completely sincerely, first helping Nicolas with his shirt before he put on his own clothing.

Doing things for Nicolas before himself was something he’d always done—it was something he should be doing, as a familiar—but now Nicolas felt odd about it.  He really hated the guilt that filled him.  This was _his_ fault, and it was probably only a matter of mispronunciation keeping Ominis there—they probably thought his name was Ominous, and luckily summoning was required precision with the target’s name _—_ and yet Ominis was thinking of _him_ before himself.

He hurried to finish dressing before they realized their mistake.  That woman…  He’d _trusted_ her!  And she’d _told_ them!  They must have thought he was still with his parents and using Ominis could get him to help them.

Well, two could play that little game.

“Come on.”  He grabbed Ominis’s hand and held on tightly.  If they got Ominis, they were getting _him_ too.  “We need to get something before they summon us…”

\---

“This is _amazing_.”  Dipper was completely awed by the machine.  It was so big!  …And complicated looking.  “Do you know what to do?”

“Vaguely!”  Dipper shot him a look that Bill promptly ignored.  “Cool your jets, Pine Tree.  I remember enough about this thing.  I was around when your gramps got sucked in, you know.”

He hadn’t known, but based on what Stan had said, he didn’t question it.  He watched Bill float around, pressing buttons and flipping switches.  He almost couldn’t believe this was happening—if this worked, Bill would be the most powerful being in their universe.  Of course, if the plan failed…

Well, he was sure Nicolas was old enough to take care of himself, but he had faith that Bill could do this.

“I can’t believe this all rests on you being able to kill a _baby_.  I mean, he’s a huge baby, but, you know, he’s still a baby.”

“Don’t underestimate the Time Baby,” Bill muttered, pulling a lever a bit harder than necessary.  “Too bad for that fat little _thing_ though—the last time we crossed paths, I didn’t have a corporeal body on this pathetic plane.  But now…!”

Bill laughed as he worked, and Dipper couldn’t help but chuckle too.  They had to get the machine working, open up a portal to the point where the Time Baby would take over, and defeat him.  Then Bill would be unchallenged in terms of power, and this world belonged to the Cipher family.  Then Mabel would see.  They _all_ would see!

Suddenly, a magical signature filed the air—it was faint, and likely coming from far away, but it was definitely noticeable.  Bill made a noise of disgust, but he didn’t stop.

“Stanford is really getting on my nerves!”  Dipper rolled his eyes—despite his words, Bill’s aura was downright _cheerful_.  “I guess our little bird wasn’t as careful as he was trying to be.  They’re gonna summon Ominis, and you know he’ll be right behind.  Well, as long as Ominis isn’t in _his_ behind—”

“That’s really enough!”  Bill laughed even harder.  “Your lewd commentary aside, what do they think _that_ will help?  Other than getting Nicolas to level this town with a tornado if they hurt Ominis?”

“They probably think he can get them past this barrier, the dumb meatsacks.”  He turned to Dipper, reaching a hand out to him.  Dipper smirked and took it, feeling Bill’s small black hand, warm and inhuman and so very comforting in his.  “All according to plan, one way or another.”

“Gotta give them points for creativity, right?”

“I’d rather give them night terrors for the rest of their lives, but sure.”

Dipper shook his head, and Bill got back to work.  There was much to do before all the players were in their positions, and then…

Then everything would be theirs.


	12. Chapter 12

Nicolas and Ominis sat in the parlor, their hands firmly intertwined.  He’d taken all of the jewels out of his bag, handing them over to their new owner.  If Ominis’s eyes hadn’t lit up at the sight of them, Nicolas would have tossed them to the monsters outside.  He couldn’t believe that _bitch_ told everyone…

“Hmm, this is my favorite.”  Ominis held the large amethyst in his free hand, and Nicolas smiled.  Well, at least he liked _that one_ the best.  “It won’t be long now, you know.  They’re close.”

“Persistent assholes,” Nicolas muttered, leaning into Ominis.  They’d been attempting the summon for over an hour now.  They would get it eventually—there were only so many ways to mispronounce Ominis—and he was going to lambast them.  He was _supposed_ to be enjoying his time with Ominis until his parents needed him, or they defeated that weird baby his dad hated so much.  Probably the latter.

“What will you do when they succeed?”  Nicolas didn’t even need to think before he answered.

“Kill them.”  Ominis rolled his eyes.  “Fine.  _Maim_ them.”

“It doesn’t even hurt anymore.”

“So?  They hurt you _period_ , and that’s unacceptable!”  He frowned, squeezing Ominis’s hand tightly.  “Besides, they must plan on using you as leverage.  As far as they know, those journals are gone, so it can’t be that.  They want me to lead them to my parents!  They want me to betray the two beings who saved me from dying!  Why _shouldn’t_ I at least maim them?”

“Mister Cipher will be upset if you harm his sister, and Master Cipher will be upset if his husband is upset.”  Nicolas sighed; he hated it when Ominis had to go and make sense.  “Come now, don’t be like that.  Killing humans may hold a certain appeal, but it’s far too easy.  If they aren’t trying to kill you first, wouldn’t you say it’s better to simply prove how superior you are to them?”

Nicolas pulled away to look Ominis in the eyes, a serious expression on his face.

“…Have I ever told you how much I love you?”

“A few times.”

Nicolas giggled and settled back in.  Well, perhaps his plans had changed, but it didn’t necessarily have to be for the worst.  He and Ominis would have an eternity to be together, after all.

He was kind of excited to show those humans just how inferior they were.

\---

Mabel watched as Stan tried the summon again.  They had to keep pausing so he didn’t overexert himself—he didn’t like hearing it, but he _was_ pretty old—but as he had pointed out, they had to keep trying.  That name, assuming it was really a name, was all they had to go on, and Stan insisted they keep going until he had used every pronunciation he could think of.

The blood inscribed runes glowed as he chanted.  They’d found a feather in Pacifica’s room to further home in on the crow—though the feather belonged to Nicolas, as Stan lectured, a familiar still kept a contract with their master.  And with as dearly as Nicolas regarded his crow, they probably had a deep bond.

Just when Mabel thought that they were going to fail again, something new happened.  Everyone backed away as the runes turned from a rusty red to burning purple flames.  Mabel thought it looked an awful lot like the blue fire Dipper and Bill both used.  A terrible wind picked up, licking the flames, but not putting them out.  Then a blinding light filled the area, causing Mabel to shield her eyes with her forearm.  It was over just as soon as it began, the light gone, the wind calm, and the flames extinguished.

And judging by the two winged men now standing between Stan and the rest of them, Mabel had to say it worked.

But if the expressions on their faces said anything, she wished that Stan had kept on failing.

\---

“They’ve summon Ominis…”  Dipper closed his eyes and stretched his senses out.  “Nicolas is with him.”

“Yeah, figured that would happen.  It took them too long to get it right for those two crazy kids not to make a plan.”  He hummed as his hands hovered over a set of buttons.  Finally, he pressed a green button and moved on.  “Impress me Pine Tree—tell me if they brought the journals so I can concentrate.  I’m almost done here.”

“Well…”  He prodded around, trying to sense the presence of the journal he knew so well.  “No, they didn’t.”

“Good!  We raised him well!”

“But…”

Bill paused and turned to Dipper, his eye narrowing.

“But _what_?”

“But I’m pretty sure Nicolas raided your collection of otherworldly magical weapons, because Ominis has the Megiddo Fire Rod.”  Bill sighed and muttered about how much he wanted a drink.  Dipper remembered the last time he had to deal with Bill pouring margaritas in his eye—and the headache he’d gotten convincing Nicolas that he was too young for tequila—and thanked every higher power ever conceived that such a thing wasn’t possible at the moment.  “Should I go out and stop them?”

“No!  Geez Pine Tree, don’t get me wrong, this is great for me!  Fire and wind attacking at once?  The firestorm out there is going to be _great_!”  Dipper froze at the thought. He might not be happy with the people out there, but the forest burning down and possibly taking them with it wasn’t an outcome he wanted at all.  “Look, calm your jets.  There are some useful peons out in the forest that I don’t particularly want dead yet, so if they go overboard, I’ll do something, okay?  Just for you and that dumb face of yours.”

“You _just_ said it was because—”

“I say a lot of things,” he answered flippantly.  “Don’t question me.”

Dipper shook his head, but he smiled all the same.

\---

“I thought you said he had a crow?”

“I did!”

“That’s a man.”

“But look at his wings.”

“You didn’t say anything about a were-crow, or whatever!”

“I didn’t know!”

Ominis glanced at the five humans huddled together, then turned back to Nicolas.

“Are you quite sure these pathetic creatures are even worth fighting?”

“I dunno,” Nicolas admitted.  His fans were in his hands, but as soon as they appeared, the old man had scrambled to the others, and they’d started fighting amongst themselves.  It really wasn’t how he expected the meeting to go.  He’d broken into his dad’s vault for this!  He _really_ wanted to see Ominis burning things!  “Maybe?  I mean, I’m not sure what they can do when the best magic they have between them is really weak precognition and the ability to see through glamour.  I thought they might at least put up a fight, somehow…”

The sound of quiet Latin chanting hit Nicolas’s ears a moment too late.

“Ominis, move!”  He watched as Ominis flapped his wings, shooting into the air.  The problem was, they both seemed to have misjudged the target, and Nicolas soon found that he couldn’t move his feet.  “W-what?  No way…”

His gaze shot up to the group of humans.  The old man’s smug face made his blood boil, but not as much as the pitying expression on Pacifica’s face.  He scowled as he tried to find the source of what was binding him.  He saw no sigils, no runes…  There had to be a trick somewhere.  There was no way the old man had powerful enough magic to keep him still.

“Alright kid, just calm down.  We only want to talk—”

Stan was cut off as the glowing orb atop Ominis’s rod was suddenly _very_ close to his face.  Nicolas almost laughed as Stan tried to act like he wasn’t terrified.  The Megiddo Fire Rod was aptly named, and he was probably going to be in trouble for taking it without permission.  But at that very moment, he felt it was all worth it.

“We will talk,” Ominis said very quietly, very calmly, “once my Master can move again.  And I highly doubt you are in any position to argue with me, so kindly rectify your mistake immediately.”

“It’s, uh, it’s a really tiny set of runes I drew with chicken blood,” Stan admitted, looking sheepish.  “I spilled some, so I figured I’d go all the way, you know?”

And _of course_ , Nicolas managed to land on just the wrong spot.  His day really couldn’t make up its mind if it wanted to go well or not.

Stan said a few more Latin phrases, and Nicolas could move again.  He stepped off the spot, and sure enough, there was smeared blood where his shoes had been.  He scuffed it up, just to be safe.  By the time he was done, Ominis had leapt back beside him, but he didn’t lower the rod.

“Speak your piece, while I still see fit to let you keep your tongues.”

If Nicolas hadn’t loved that man, he might have been upset.  So much for showing them how much better he was!  First he’d messed up, and now Ominis was saying all those cool things!

“We just want to talk to Dipper.”  Mabel’s eyes pleaded with them, but Nicolas wasn’t moved.  “He’s making a mistake.”

“Tch, whatever.”  He waved her off dismissively.  “Anyway, no can do.  Dad and Papa don’t need you in there mucking things up.”

The redhead glared at him, and he glared right back.  He hoped she had a splitting headache.

“Looks like they didn’t need _you_ either.”

Nicolas’s face flushed with anger.  That woman…!

“Shut up!  Dad was being nice and letting me be with Ominis!”  He didn’t mention the journals.  They couldn’t know they were still intact.  “Anyway, whatever plan you thought you had, it’s over.  You didn’t get a crow—you got a crow and a tengu.  You losers can’t compete.”  He raised a fan to match Ominis.  He hoped they looked as cool and intimidating as he imagined.  “Now, unless you want to see what a fire tornado looks like, you’d better hand over that book.”

They all looked very hesitant to do that…  Except for one of them, who snatched the book from Stan and threw it over to them.  Nicolas felt his breath hitch as he bent down to pick it up.  No, no he was mad at her!  He wasn’t letting her off that easily.

“I’d say that I’m impressed one of you has a brain, but considering that person is pretty much a _traitor_ …”  Pacifica flinched.  Good.  She deserved it.  “Now, what do we have here…?”

The book was old, but it didn’t look as mysterious as the journals, and he sensed no magic from it.  He glanced over to Ominis, who shook his head.  Frowning, Nicolas flipped through it.

Then he fastened his fans back to his belt with a sigh.  This was beginner’s stuff, and it was from the _public library_.  Stan’s existing knowledge of summoning demons helped more than the book did.  He threw it over his shoulder, not caring where it landed.

“Hey, be careful with that!  I ain’t paying no damage fines!”

“Then _don’t_.   I don’t care what you dumb humans do with your useless books.”  He thought about what they should do now.  It would be hard for him and Ominis to go back home on their own, though they could manage together.  Of course, as much as he didn’t want to babysit, these humans _were_ proving to be a nuisance…  “Ominis, take the rear and watch them closely.  Humans, you’d best follow me.  Even if you think you can run and scatter, you’re wrong.  We’re too fast, and you know it.”

He was at least sure of _that_ much.

“Where are we going?” Mabel asked, looking at the rod Ominis pointed at their backs with more than a little trepidation.  Nicolas laughed and started to walk.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to see a place papa told me about, and now seems as good a time as any, seeing as we have some time to kill.  Any objections?”  He didn’t hear any, but he _did_ hear the redhead grunt, as if she’d been prodded with the rod.  He smirked as he envisioned it.  “Good, now come along little humans, follow me.”

As they walked, Nicolas hummed a little tune.  This was going to end up all right after all.

\---

Dipper sighed in relief as everyone’s auras slowly got calmer and calmer.  No one seemed hurt, no one felt bound to any spells, and nothing was burning.  That was the best outcome he could have hoped for.  Now it was merely a question of how much longer it would take Bill to get the machine running.

A cry of “ _There_!” accompanied by a great whirl of light and sound answered _that_ question.

“So, this is it?”  The machine looked menacing, wind and colors swirling around the room.  Bill looked pleased.  “We can—”

“ _I_ can.”  Dipper frowned.  “Don’t give me that, Pine Tree.  I said I was doing this solo, and I meant it.  I mean, it won’t be like you’ll even know if I fail.  You’ll just drop dead before you even know it!”

“That’s _very_ comforting.”

“I know!” Bill exclaimed, completely ignoring the sarcasm.  “Look, you need to stay here and keep the barrier up.  If one of that stupid baby’s stupider agents come, it needs to be in place so they can’t get in and stop things.  It’s been hard enough keeping them off our trail as it is.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true…”  He still didn’t like it, but there wasn’t a lot to be done.  He might be able to take on time agents, but the _Time Baby_?  Bill wouldn’t admit it aloud, but he could tell that the demon wasn’t completely sure he could either.  And if Bill Cipher wasn’t more than one hundred and ten percent sure of something, it was a pretty big _something_.  “Then I’m just supposed to stay here and wait to see if I just keel over?”

“That’s about the gist of it!”  Sometimes, Bill’s inability to stay serious in times like these could be comforting, but other times it was just frustrating.  This was one of those times, and he _knew_ Bill knew how he felt.  It took a lot more trouble than it was worth to hide his emotions from Bill, even after all the time they’d been together.  “Come on Pine Tree, don’t be like that.  You know I’ve got a lot waiting for me when I get back, so I’m gonna beat that oversized lump of lard and come home!”

“And what do you have waiting?”  He wasn’t pouting.  He swore it.  “All that _power_ …?”

Bill paused and floated back to Dipper.  Their bond surged, and Dipper shivered at what he felt.  Bill wouldn’t do this often, but when he _did_ …  Then Dipper knew everything that Bill wouldn’t say.

“Power, yeah, of course.  And a husband, and a kid, and everything else that makes up our messed up little family.”  He reached out and patted Dipper’s cheek in an impossibly gentle manner.  “I think you’ve been around Shooting Star and Stanford if you’re thinking like that.”

“…You know they think you took me away to groom me, right?”

“Well,” Bill laughed, not sounding concerned by their opinions at all, which was hardly a shock, “at least they got something right!”

A few silent moments passed.

“ _What_?”

“Of course I did!”  For something that Mabel and Stan felt so strongly about, it was almost comical how little Bill cared.  “I wasn’t about to wait until a bunch of stupid meat sacks filled your head full of nonsense like, _don’t make deals with demons_ , or _don’t commit yourself to immortality_.  Why wouldn’t I get you as young as I could?  What difference does your age make to me when I’ve been around for _millennia_?”

It wasn’t as if the things Mabel said had never crossed his mind.  Of course they had.  But what Bill said now had too.  And hadn’t everything worked out so far?  What point was there in worrying about whether things had been right or wrong?  Those weren’t even words that applied to Bill anyway.

“…You’re as blunt as always.”

“And you love it, don’t lie!”

“Fine, fine.”  Dipper laughed, waving Bill off.  Well, he couldn’t deny _that_.  “Don’t you have a Time Baby to defeat?”

“You bet your sweet cheeks I do!”  Dipper rolled his eyes.  He swore, if Bill said what he thought he was going to…  “And I _don’t_ mean the one on your face.”

“For the love of…  Go get your ultimate power and get back here, okay?”

“Hmm, yes _dear_.”  He floated back to the whirling machine and pressed one more button.  The wind picked up, whipping around the room.  “…I’m not a human Pine Tree, you know that.  You might not get my motives, but I promised I’d make you happy, and I don’t break promises.”

With that, Bill floated into the light.

Moments later, the wind and light and color all died, leaving the room filled with nothing but the faint hum of the machine in standby.  That was it…  Bill was gone, and Dipper had no way of knowing what was going on other than the fact he wasn’t dead.  He couldn’t feel anything though their bond; it was an effect—Bill had explained earlier—of space _and_ time being disrupted at once.  The bond still stood, but only the most drastic of consequences would be felt until Bill was back.

He tried not to think about Bill’s fight and how he could die and have no idea it was coming by checking the barrier around the house.  It was fine, _damn_.  He hurried to think of something else—Nicolas!  He searched for his son’s signature, and found it a decent distance away, everyone else still with him.  Where were they…?

Images of saving a winged baby—his parents vanished and miraculously still surviving—sprang to mind.  He wanted to see _that_ place, did he?  Well, there was no harm in it, Dipper supposed.

That was, until Dipper felt another aura appear near his son.  One that didn’t feel terribly dangerous, but possibly still a threat, especially with what Bill was doing.  Part of him wanted to get out there right away, but he had to be here…  He had to make sure the barrier was intact…

“Mabel and I were fine when we were twelve,” he reasoned with himself.  “If it’s only him, Nicolas will be fine.  And Mabel will know what to do.”

But that was the problem, wasn’t it?  Nicolas and Mabel both had very different priorities and alliances at the moment.

He let his concentration waver—he trusted Nicolas and Ominis to keep themselves safe, and he was sure that if that man was who he thought it was, Mabel and the others were in no danger.  He had to do his job here, and hope that Blendin Blandin’s appearance meant that Bill was winning.


	13. Chapter 13

It didn’t take long before Mabel knew exactly where they were headed.  Surely, Dipper had told the story of how the two of them were almost ripped apart up here.  He’d also mentioned that he and Bill had found Nicolas in the same place.  She supposed it _would_ be a place Nicolas would want to see, but _she_ didn’t particularly want to be there.  But what choice did she have?  Even if one of them tried to throw off the duo, the terrain was definitely on the side of winged creatures.

‘ _I wish I had my grappling hook_.’

“Why are you doing this?”  Mabel almost winced as Wendy’s voice filled the silence.  “What did we ever do to you?”

“Well now, I don’t see why I need to answer _anything_ to the likes of you.”  Mabel couldn’t see Nicolas’s face, but she instinctively knew there was a scowl there.  He really didn’t like Wendy, but she didn’t think _now_ was the time to clear up any misconceptions he had about Wendy and Dipper.  “But I suppose I can answer your second question…  You’re humans, and I don’t like humans.  Simple.”

“Dipper is a human.”

“And that is a fault I must forgive him for everyday.” The sarcasm in his voice was _amazing_.

“ _You_ —”

“Man, you wanna know why I dragged you all along?” Nicolas cut Wendy off, sounding quite done with her.  “Because you’re annoying and poke your noses where they don’t belong, and I’m doing _my_ part to make sure you don’t wreck things.  And _you_ in particular are the worst human I’ve met, so I suggest you shut your trap or I’ll cut out your tongue.”

Nothing was said for a few moments.  But _only_ a few moments.

“Now you’re just recycling your partner’s lines.”

Mabel almost groaned.  Now _really_ wasn’t the time to provoke the mystical creature who had a boyfriend with a weapon trained on their backs!  Wasn’t _she_ supposed to be the impulsive one here?  And sure enough, she heard Wendy swear under her breath as she was jabbed in the back.

“Nicolas told you to be quiet.”  She noted that Ominis’s voice was still as unruffled as before, and she almost giggled despite herself.  A crow, _unruffled_!  “You should listen to him.”

“Hey kid,” Stan spoke up, while Mabel wondered why they couldn’t all just stop aggravating their captors, “can I say something?”

“ _Fine_ ,” he snapped.  “Make it quick, old man.”

“I don’t know what Cipher told you, but Dipper had a crush on Wendy, and all she did was let him down easy.  If he told you anything else, he was lying.”

Nicolas didn’t stop walking, but Mabel could see his body tense just a tiny bit.

“…Yeah, well…  Dad is really protective of Papa.  I guess… he might exaggerate things.  But who cares?  I still hate you all, and I want you to all be _quiet_ now.”

Finally, they reached a clearing at the top of the mountain.  This was it, Mabel thought, this was where she and Dipper had been led by that illusion.  It made her very uncomfortable, but Nicolas looked positively ecstatic.  If he hadn’t been more or less holding them hostage, she might have found it cute.

“This is where Dad and Papa found me!”  He turned to Mabel, grinning widely, his sharp teeth almost shining in the sunlight.  “This is where Papa decided saving me was a better idea than seeing you!  Where he chose his son over his sister!  How’s that make you feel, _Auntie_?”

Mabel swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled.

“I’m really proud that Dipper chose to save you.  He still got to see me eventually, but he only had one chance to save you, right?  It was the right thing to do, and it’s obvious that Dipper loves you, so how could I be mad about it?”

“I…”  Nicolas paused, as if not expecting her to respond like that after all that had happened.  He didn’t know her very well.  She still wanted to think the best of him, and of Dipper too.  It was just very, _very_ hard at times.  “Oh, whatever.  It doesn’t matter what you think anyway…”  He didn’t seem as convincing as she was sure he was trying to be.  “I wonder what happened to the other tengu though.  Papa said he didn’t know if they died or if I was abandoned.  Not that it matters, but _still_ …  I wonder…”

“M-maybe I can help with that.”

Mabel gasped as a familiar man suddenly phased into view.

“Blendin Blandin?”

\---

Dipper watched the machine, and occasionally he checked the barrier.  Nothing wrong with either.

He didn’t check up on Nicolas or Mabel.  He didn’t need to.  He trusted them.  He trusted Bill’s abilities.  He _did_.

So why couldn’t he stop the anxiety that filled him?

‘ _Maybe…  Just for a second…_ ’

\---

“Who the hell are _you_?”  Nicolas noticed Ominis raise his rod, and the smallest amount of fear reared its ugly head.  This man _looked_ human, and he didn’t _seem_ like a threat, but his familiar thought he was one.  Sometimes it was hard to tell if Ominis was sensing something he missed, or if he was just overprotective.  Being a human with facial expression rather than a crow didn’t even help.

“As Mabel Pines has stated, my name is Blendin Blandin, a time agent from the future.”  He looked very nervous.  And he wasn’t even looking at Ominis—he only looked at Nicolas.  “I would like to show you the past.  Five years ago, right here.”

“Why would you want to help me?”  He didn’t know everything about his parents’ plan, but he did know it involved killing the Time Baby, who a guy like this should work for.  It sounded like a trap.  But then Blendin held out a tape measure.

“I only want you to see this,” he explained, and Nicolas couldn’t detect a lie.  “You can go alone if you want.  If you don’t trust me, you can keep your familiar here to watch me.”

Nicolas narrowed his eyes.  Not lying or not, it was still suspicious.

“But why?”

“You’ll know when you see.”

He sighed, looking between the man, his papa’s family, and Ominis.  He _was_ curious, and he might be able to learn sometime about the man’s motives that could help his parents…

“Nicolas?”  Ominis’s voice was far warmer when he spoke to him, Nicolas noted.  He shot his familiar a smile before turning back to Blendin.

“…Fine, give me that thing.”  Blendin handed it to him and quickly told him how to use it.  Upon Nicolas’s hesitation, Mabel assured him that was how she and Dipper had done it long ago.  Well, it sounded easy enough, he supposed.  “Five years, huh?  Alright, but if this is a trap, I’ll kill you myself, got it?”

“Y-yes.”  His nervous expression almost made Nicolas laugh.  What a loser.  At least he was smart enough to know a threat when he heard one.

He was about to pull the tape when a thought occurred to him.  If this _were_ a trap, there would probably be time agents in the past, right?  But if he had someone with him, he’d at least have bait.

“Come here, traitor.”  When Pacifica didn’t move, he stalked over to her and yanked her over to him.  Mabel made a grab for her, but it was too late.  “You’re coming as insurance.”

He expected some resistance from her, but she nodded, shooting Mabel a look that said, ‘ _Don’t worry_.’

“Alright, let’s do this.”  He pulled the tape, and in a flash, they were gone.

And immediately, they were in the exact same place.  Everyone was gone, and there were subtle differences in the rock structure, but it was definitely the same spot.  Five years ago, by the looks of it, and not a single ambush to be seen.  Looked like Blendin wouldn’t have to get roasted after all.

“Maybe we should hide?”  The question brought Nicolas’s attention back to the fact that they were, indeed, in the past, and should probably not be seen.

“I know that!” he insisted, yanking her behind some large shrubs that could conceal them, but that he could also peek through.  “Stay down and don’t say a word!”

Moments after his warning, two tengu came into view.  There they were, Nicolas thought, his birth parents.  The thought rather underwhelmed him, but he could see where some of his physical traits came from.  He had the man’s hair and eyes, but was built a bit more like the woman.

“Ah, there you flying rats are!”  Nicolas almost jumped at his dad’s voice.  Bill floated into view, and Nicolas figured that something must have been cloaking their presence if his dad’s demonic senses didn’t locate them.  “Now look, nothing against you all, but you have something I need.”

The two spoke harshly, in a language Nicolas didn’t understand.  Japanese, he assumed.  He’d never cared to learn it.

“Yeah, I _am_ the demon that almost fried you a few years back, congrats on remembering me!  Oh, but don’t look like _that_.  This isn’t going to hurt you… mostly because I’m going to kill you too quickly for you to feel much pain at all!  Normally I’d do this slowly, you know, really savor it.  But my husband—who you tried to kill, remember—will be coming here in less than an hour, so we’ve gotta do this quick.  Now if you’ll just give me the baby…”

It was then that Nicolas finally noticed the baby that the woman carried.  That was _him_.

“Oh, gonna play like that, are you?  Fine by me!  I’ll just take the kid myself!”  With a wave of his cane, the bundle of feathers floated away from the woman.  She shouted what sounded like a name—Kazuya, he thought it sounded like—but neither she nor her husband could snatch him back.  Mostly because they seemed to be held in place by magic.  The baby floated safely beside Bill.  “Thanks for the baby!  Goodbye!”

He heard Pacifica make a shocked noise as the two seemed to _explode_ , but his dad never once looked their way.  Nicolas had seen plenty of carnage, but that just seemed _excessive_.  It was all soon gone though, the remains magically picked up and flung over the side of the mountain for wild creatures to find and devour.

“There we are, kid, down you go.”  Bill lowered the baby down gently, leaving him on the hot mountainside.  “Sorry I gotta do this to you, but you need to look nice and abandoned so Pine Tree will want to save you.  Then you’re going to be our kid, okay?  Don’t worry, I promise you won’t die, and you’ll learn enough demon laws to know that actually means something.”

Bill floated lower, petting the baby’s head with a hesitation Nicolas wasn’t sure he’d ever witnessed from his dad before.

“Pine Tree is young, but he’ll be a good dad.  He just…  He misses that idiotic family of his too much.  He needs a family of his own, and he keeps getting frustrated with me.  That’s what humans do, I think.  Have kids so they’ll stay together.  Pretty sure they do, at least.  I guess I could make a kid, but I think he might get suspicious.  But if he finds a baby that looks like its dying, well, he’ll eat that right up!”

“So just hang tight, kid.”  He looked at the baby for a moment before he floated back up.  “I’ll be back for you soon.”

And then he was gone.

Nicolas quickly stood up and walked over to his past self.  Was it bad to do this?  Would the time-space continuum be ripped to shreds if they touched?  Well, what did it matter—he was a baby, and he certainly never remembered meeting himself as a baby.  He knelt down and took a closer look.

“Hey, me.”  He paused.  Man, he felt a little silly, but he felt as if he needed to say this.  “It looks like your…  my…  _our_ parents loved us.  I mean, you look like a healthy, fat baby.  But look, I don’t know those two.  All I know are Bill and Dipper Cipher.  Your name isn’t some Japanese thing, okay?  It’s Nicolas Cipher, and you’re gonna grow up around lots of cool magic, and you’re gonna get a familiar, and you’re gonna fall in love with him, but don’t feel too weird about it, because he’ll get a humanoid body one day.  Just…  Just don’t worry.  You’re alright.”

Baby Nicolas didn’t make a peep, merely peering up curiously.

“…Nicolas, are you alright?”  He touched his cheeks, knowing what he’d feel, yet still surprised to find the tears anyway.  He stood up and wiped at his eyes.

“I’m being stupid, huh?  Talking to a baby who can’t hear me…”

“I don’t think so.”  Pacifica looked sort of wistful.  Nicolas realized that he really didn’t know anything about her relationship with her parents.  “So, that’s the infamous Bill Cipher.  He, uh, he chose you, right?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, composing himself before he continued.  “He did.  I mean, maybe I was just convenient, but—”

“But he seemed really tender there, and he had no reason to be.”  She was so quick to point that out that Nicolas was a little taken aback.  No one else seemed to think anything about his dad other than that he was the cause of everyone’s problems.  “I think…  Maybe he really _did_ want to have a family with Dipper.  Maybe there was more to it than just wanting to make sure Dipper didn’t leave him for Mabel.”

“Y-yeah, you’re right.”  He thought about his dad’s words and smiled.  Bill could have made a child, but he didn’t.  He could have picked _any_ child, but he _didn’t_.  “He didn’t think anyone was around, and he knew a baby wouldn’t remember what he said, so it has to be true.  He chose me, and he really loves Papa, and that dumb time agent has another thing coming if he thought this would sway me to his side or something!”

He went to yank the tape measure, intent on giving that man a piece of his mind.  He only had two parents—the two who raised him—and seeing the past wasn’t about to change that.

“Hey, wait a second.”

“What is it?”  He didn’t snap at her as he had with the others.  Of all the things that had happened that day, the fact that he wasn’t angry at her anymore was perhaps the thing that shocked him the most.

“I…”  She paused, looking as if she had to brace herself for what she had to say.  “I’m sorry.  Mabel and the others are really worried about Dipper, and she pulled out the puppy eyes…”

“Look, it’s…”  He smiled, just a bit.  They really had a lot in common, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about that.  “It’s fine.  I mean, me and Ominis are okay, and I got to see all this, so I guess it worked out.  Oh, and hey, Ominis really liked the jewels, you know.”

“That’s good, I’m glad.” She seemed to be sincere, and his smile got a little wider.

“He liked my amethyst the most though!”

“It _was_ a nice cut,” she agreed with a soft laugh.  “And it came from you, so I think that makes it the best anyway.  I mean, I have a lot of stuff, but the things Mabel gives me are always my favorites.”

Nicolas was hit, at that moment, with a realization.  One that concerned him more than he liked.  He really, _truly_ like this human, and he dreaded the thought that he might have to harm her.  He forgave her and he was already trusting her again, and this was a major revelation that he really didn’t like!

“…You aren’t so bad,” he admitted quietly, his face becoming somber.  “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“And I don’t want to hurt you,” she assured, still trying to smile.  It wasn’t very convincing.  “Or anyone.”

“I don’t think Papa will let any of you get hurt, but when Dad wins, I don’t really know _what_ will happen.”

“Win what?”  He didn’t doubt her sincerity, but he laughed and shook his head.

“Yeah, no, sorry.  If I tell you, Aunt Mabel might try her puppy eyes again,” he teased, briefly sticking his tongue out at her.  “You’re better off not knowing!”

“Okay, okay,” she laughed, and this time, it sounded genuine.  “You’ve got me there.  Should we go back yet?”

“Yeah,” he agreed, looping one of his arms with hers, a stark contrast to the grip he’d had on her when they arrived.  “I want to tell that loser just how little I care about what I saw!”

He finally pulled on the tape measure, returning them to the present time.  They were back in a flash.

And Pacifica immediately broke free of him with a cry, her hands clasping over her mouth.  Nicolas didn’t move as he surveyed the scene.  What had happened here…?  They hadn’t been gone long at all!  It looked…

It looked just like when then tengu had exploded, except no one had bothered to clean it up.

“Nicolas!”  He almost cried in relief at the sound of Ominis’s voice.  If that mess had been him, he didn’t know what he would have done.  “I’m glad you’re back.  You certainly missed a grand display of power.”

“I’ll say,” he breathed, looking around for sign of anyone else.  “Was…  Was this Dad?  Is he back?”

Ominis sighed, shaking his head.  Nicolas couldn’t even begin to believe the alternatives.

“No, nor was it I, nor the time agent.  In fact,” he swept out his arm at the carnage, “that is what remains of the time agent.  Mister Cipher could no longer detect your presence, and he teleported here just after you left.  He thought it was a trap, and, well, you can see how he reacted.”

“ _Papa_ did this?”  Nicolas knew he was capable of it, but he didn’t think his papa would actually do such a thing.  “Just because he thought the guy was hurting me?”

“Yes, and even after your aunt explained, it did not faze him.  He said that the man had at least been trying to turn you against your family, and that was crime enough for the punishment.  Though I can see it obviously did not work.”

“Obviously,” he agreed.  “But the barrier—”

“Has not been breached,” Ominis assured.  “Mister Cipher must have used a lot of energy, but I suppose the adrenaline of thinking you had been injured fueled him.  Also, he informed me that no other time agents are in the area.  I’d say Master Cipher is winning.”

“That’s good.  But where are the other humans?”  He knew they must be alive, but he didn’t sense them in the vicinity.  “Papa didn’t take them, did he?”

“…He took your aunt and ordered me to let the others go and wait for you to return.  I am to escort you back to the premises, and we will be allowed inside.  I believe his plan is to put them under an enchantment once they get close to the barrier.”

“He took Mabel?”  They both turned to Pacifica, who was very pale, but otherwise seemed fine.  “He won’t hurt her, will he?”

“ _No_ ,” Nicolas insisted firmly, ignoring Ominis’s curious glance when he didn’t just snap at her to shut up.  “Dad isn’t allowed to harm her, I’m not allowed to harm her, and he definitely isn’t going to do it himself.  He probably thought she’d be safer with him.  Maybe, I dunno, try to talk her into the whole immortality thing.”

“Immortality…?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged, “all three of us are, plus Ominis too.  I mean, mostly.  We’ll never get old and die at least.  We’re immune to disease too.  Stuff like that.”

“Are you sure this is wise?” Ominis asked, glaring at Pacifica.  Nicolas turned to him, smiling softly.

“She’s okay,” he admitted, “you know, for a human.  We’ve come to a truce, I guess, so don’t worry.  She’s not magical, anyway.”

He thought she whispered “rude” under her breathe, but he elected to ignore it.

“Anyway, we should get back if Papa is waiting for us.  It looks like he’s already way too strung out waiting for Dad, if he’d go this far.”  He turned back to Pacifica.  “You might want to go home.  I’m sure Aunt Mabel will be fine, and Papa might enchant you too, if you get near the barrier.”

“I’ll be fine,” she insisted, and he knew that if someone told him to do the same if Ominis were gone, he’d react just as she was.  “If Dipper knocks me out, then he knocks me out.  But I’m going.”

“Alright, but we’ve wasted enough time, so we’d better go the fast way.”  He unclipped his fans and looked to Ominis.  “I’m gonna need a boost if I’m taking two with me.”

Without a word, Ominis came up to him and leaned down, capturing his lips in a kiss.  Nicolas melted into it—this was a lot better than the little pecks to the head he had to give the crow before!  Well, he supposed that hadn’t be _necessary_ , but he’d made do with what they’d had.  Regardless, this type of energy transfer beat any other.

When the kiss ended, Nicolas grinned and raised his fans.

“Let’s do this!”

\---

“Will you stop looking at me like that?”

“No!” Mabel yelled, glaring at him.  He supposed, grudgingly, he understood why she was reacting that way.  “Dipper, you…  You killed him!  You never would have done this back then!”

“Back then I was weak,” he snapped, not wanting to bring Bill into this.  “Stop thinking I’m the same as I was when we were twelve!  Mabel, he was up to no good, and he had to go.”

“But _why_?  So what, Nicolas saw his birth parents.  They’re dead.  Unless you have a reason to think he’d get mad at what he saw, why would you react that way?”

He wouldn’t say aloud that he certainly _did_ think that maybe Bill had something to do with the tengu dying.  The older he got, the more suspicious the scenario seemed.  The timing had been a little too perfect, and he and Bill _had_ been fighting off and on at the time…  It didn’t seem farfetched that Bill would kill the parents to give Dipper a reason to stay.  He hadn’t needed it, but he didn’t deny that being a father made him happy.  He loved his family, and he wasn’t going to let a time agent ruin it.

Besides, if a time agent was stupid enough to try to flee Bill and defeat him from the past, they deserved whatever punishment they got.

“Look, I had my reasons.  I’m not looking for your approval.”

“Good!” she yelled back.  “Because I’m not giving it!”

“Fine!”

“ _Fine_!”

He growled, turning away from her.  Why couldn’t she just trust him?  Why did she have to just assume the worst all of a sudden?

“Argh, Mabel, you’re driving me crazy!  I’m trying to help you, and you won’t listen!”  She’d _never_ listened when it mattered.  She was always caught up in boys, then Pacifica, and…  “This is all your fault anyway, so don’t blame anyone but yourself!”

Mabel didn’t answer; he finally turned back to her, only to see her disbelieving face.

“W-what?  How can you say that…?”

“Well isn’t it true?  I was only trying to stop you from getting your heart broken again, and you went and told everyone I wet my bed!  If you hadn’t done that, then Bill wouldn’t have come into my dreams that day and started all of this.”  He paused, smirking at her shocked expression.  “I guess I should thank you, now that I think about it."

“You’re crazy,” she breathed, backing up until she hit the wall.  “Bill took you away and changed you…”

“Sorry Mabel.”  He wasn’t sorry.  “But he didn’t change me, he just gave me the chance to live the way I wanted.”

He waved his hand, and she quickly slumped down to the floor, asleep, just as Stan, Wendy, and Soos were outside.  Maybe bringing her back had been a mistake, but he couldn’t give up yet.  He just had to try harder to make her understand.  It was a bigger challenge then he’s initially thought, but he expected it.  After all, Mabel always had lots of friends, and their parents had clearly favored her.  _Stan_ had clearly favored her.

Well, now _he_ was going to have everything he wanted.

He soon felt Nicolas’s magical signature fill the air, Ominis and Pacifica with him.  And just as quickly, he felt Pacifica’s drop off as the enchantment he’d set up outside put her to sleep.  It would be better for her, he was sure.  He didn’t want to hurt her, so he needed her to stay out of his family’s business.

‘ _Hurry Bill_ ,’ he thought as he wove the spell to bring Nicolas and Ominis past the barrier, ‘ _I need to make Mabel understand…_ ’

‘ _…And I really miss you already_.’


	14. Chapter 14

The first thing Dipper did upon bringing Nicolas and Ominis inside the shack was to hug his son tightly.  The second thing he did was pull away and put on his best _You’re-in-Trouble-Mister_ expression.

“What you did was _incredibly_ dangerous!”

Nicolas laughed guiltily, glancing to Ominis, then out the window, where they could see four sleeping bodies laying in the distance.

“Umm, I won’t disagree, but what _precisely_ are you referring to?”

Dipper sighed, but he couldn’t bring himself to be too upset.  Adopted or not, the boy sure fit into the family.

“Taking one of the ancient weapons _and_ going into what could have been a trap.”  He paused and narrowed his eyes.  “Unless you’ve done something _else_ I should know about?”

“No, no,” he assured, holding his hands up, “that’s it!  But come on Papa, Ominis needed a weapon, and he looks so _cool_ with it.”

Ominis didn’t say anything, but Dipper noticed him gripping the Megiddo tightly.  Being a human wasn’t going to change the familiar—Dipper knew that Ominis would only use excessive force if Nicolas’s life were in danger.  And considering what just happened with Blandin, well, Dipper had no room to say _anything_.

“Well…  Bill didn’t seem too concerned about it.”  He turned to Ominis.  “You can keep it.  Fire magic is your forte anyway.”

“Thank you, sir,” Ominis replied with a bow, the faintest hint of a smile on his face.  Nicolas, in comparison, grinned widely.

“And you, young man,” Nicolas’s grin faded immediately, “going into the past was dangerous.  I know Blandin looked like a pushover, but he could have been bait.  And if they were desperate, they definitely would have used you as a hostage.”

“I…  I had a meat shield with me?”  At the look he received, Nicolas fidgeted.  “Come on, Papa, I’m alright.  I mean, if you had the chance to look into the past and see how your birth parents died, wouldn’t you take it?”

“…You have a point,” Dipper reluctantly conceded.  “I’ll let you off with a warning this time.”

“Oh, thank you Papa!”  Nicolas flung his arms around him, and Dipper hugged his son back.  All of his tension from the situation seemed to melt away as he felt with his own two arms at Nicolas was there.  He was there, and whatever he had seen, he wasn’t upset.  “…Hey, Papa?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you know that Dad made the tengu explode so he could take me and give you a kid because he was afraid you might want to leave him and stay with Aunt Mabel?”

Dipper promptly stepped back, his eyes wide.  He’d been _right_?

“Wait, _really_?”

“I take it that’s a no,” Nicolas snickered.  “Mmm, yeah, did Dad teach you how to blow someone up?  It looked a lot the same as what you did.  But Dad thought to clean it up afterwards.”

“He has a lot more experience with that than I do,” Dipper muttered, shaking his head.  Sure, he’d killed a variety of creatures, but Blandin was the first human.  Honestly, he hadn’t even been thinking about it.  He’d just thought that Nicolas was in danger and reacted accordingly.  He was a little surprised to find that he didn’t really regret it.

He glanced to where Mabel was slumped over.  He would have done the same for her, but she didn’t seem to understand that. 

“Hey, Papa, can I ask you something?”  Dipper turned back to Nicolas and nodded; he couldn’t imagine what his son could have to ask that could lead to a more shocking response than what he’d already learned that day.  “Which is true, that the annoying Wendy woman tried to seduce you away from Dad, or that you simply liked her before Dad and she was nice about letting you down?”

“Bill really told you that?”  Nicolas not meeting his eye told him everything he needed to know.  “Nicolas, were you being, maybe, a little _rough_ with Wendy?”

“…Maybe?”

“ _Nicolas_.”

“N-not anything that gave her more than a little headache, I swear!”  After a moment, he crossed his arms, still not looking Dipper in the eyes.  “Okay, so I can see Dad getting jealous and telling me a _skewed_ version of things.  But I didn’t know!  It’s not like you’ve given me an extensive lecture on your childhood!”

Dipper counted to ten in his head, reminding himself that Nicolas was only five human years old, physically and mentally a teenager, and Bill was one of the only three beings he’d grown up around.  He couldn’t really be surprised that Bill’s possessive nature had led to this.  Besides, he supposed he had to be grateful Nicolas hadn’t made anyone _explode_.

“Alright, I’ll give you a warning on _this_ too.  Wendy never saw me as anything but a friend, she was nicer about it then she had to be, and I was over her before your dad and I got together.” Nicolas finally looked up at him, the relief shining in his eyes.  Dipper continued in a softer fashion, “Don’t worry, the things we disagreed on back then have all worked themselves out.  Even if Wendy _did_ want something with me, I would turn her down.  I have the perfect family already.”

“…Okay, Papa,” he said with a soft smile on his face, “whatever you say.”

Mabel would have understood, Dipper thought, if she were in his shoes at this very moment.  To see your child so concerned about you and your spouse.  To be so proud to see them maturing.  To be so utterly relieved that they’re _alive_.

He looked back at Mable and got an idea.

“What do you two think of keeping an eye on the barrier while I go into Mabel’s dream?”  Nicolas and Ominis shared a look, and Dipper knew what they were thinking.  “Not into the mindscape, just the dreamscape.  If something happens that you need me for, you can just wake me up.”

“Yeah, okay, if you really want us to.”  Nicolas didn’t look completely convinced, but Dipper knew they could handle watching for anomalies.  It would be more difficult without Bill around, but he’d gone into dreams by himself a few times in the past, and this was his twin…

“Thank you.  I know you can handle this.”  He reached out to ruffle Nicolas’s hair—which he promptly huffed over, smoothing it back down—then moved towards Mabel’s sleeping body.  He sat down next to her, gently pulling her face towards his.  Carefully, he pressed their foreheads together, and he felt his birthmark begin to burn…

\---

Dipper opened his eyes, and honestly, he wasn’t in the least bit surprised to see the utterly girlish monochrome chaos going on in his sister’s dream.  He saw her in the distance, riding a unicorn over a black, grey, and white rainbow—only Mabel could have rainbows even when color wasn’t present—with an assortment of furry creatures riding along with her.  Dipper almost laughed; the only time he was ever going to see a unicorn was in a dream, and he was pretty sure it would be the same for Mabel by now.

“Mabel?” he called out after a few moments of watching her.  The unicorn suddenly stopped, disappearing with the animals with a poof.  Literally—they went up in a little white cloud.  Leave it to Mabel…

“Dipper,” she growled as she stomped over to him, “you’d better be part of a bad dream, because if you’re really real and really in my mind—”

“I’m technically in your dreams, not your mind,” he explained, pretending as if he didn’t see her glaring at him, “it’s subtle, but there are real differences.  I can’t get into your mind without Bill.”

“Great,” she muttered, “you can only bring your craziness in here until I wake up.  When you forced me to sleep in the first place!”

“Mabel,” he pleaded, “ _please_ , just listen.”

“Why should I?” she crossed her arms, and Dipper wished that just once, things involving her would go his way.  “I tried to give you all a chance, I did!  But Dipper, you killed a man!”

“If you had children,” he said evenly, looking her straight in the eyes, “maybe you’d understand.”

“I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t blow up someone!” she yelled, throwing her hands in the air.

“See, that’s where I think you’re wrong,” he challenged.  “I think you _would_.  No matter what the circumstances, I think that if you were afraid your child was in danger, you’d do anything to protect them.  And whether you agree with what Bill and I are doing or not, you have to understand that Nicolas could get _killed_ if time agents got him.  He’s lucky Blandin was working alone or I may _never_ have seen him again.”

“Maybe that’s true.”  Her voice was a bit calmer, and her gaze a bit softer. “But you didn’t even let anyone explain before you did it.”

“I didn’t need an explanation when he’s a _time agent_.”

Mabel sighed, looking tired even in her dream.  Dipper felt the same way.

“…Fine, you want me to understand?  Then tell me right now, in plain English, what’s going on.”

Dipper hesitated a moment, but really, what was the harm in telling her?  He couldn’t exactly stop him.  She didn’t have much in the way of magic.  Certainly not anything to stop Bill.  Or himself, for that matter.

“Bill is going to kill the Time Baby—the only one in the future who has enough power to stop him.”

“And then?” Mabel questioned, not seeming satisfied by the answer.  “If Bill gets that power?”

“Then we can do anything we want!”  Really, he thought, what did she _expect_ to hear?

“What’s the _anything_?  Ruling the world?”

Dipper rolled his eyes.  It was painfully obvious how little Mabel understood Bill.

“Don’t be silly—ruling the world means you have to instate rules and order.  Bill wants to do whatever he pleases, not watch over a bunch of humans.”  Nicolas hadn’t gotten his dislike of humans from nowhere.  They were just useless meat sacks to Bill, puppets at best.  For Bill to want much to do with a human, it had to be an exemplarily one.

“I’m not seeing how this is a good thing for anyone who isn’t you and family,” she muttered, and Dipper felt his heart sink.

“Mabel, you _are_ my family.”  He took a step towards her, and his heart was a little bit heavier when she took a step back.  “Become immortal with us!  Pacifica could do it too—Nicolas likes him enough, so Bill will do it, I _know_ he will.”

“You…”  She looked completely thrown off by the proposition.  “You want me to live _forever_ …?”

“Yes, of course I do!”  He tried getting closer to her again, and this time she stayed put.  “You’re my twin sister, the other half of me.  I don’t want to lose you any more than I already have.”

“…And if you had to choose between me and Bill?”

Dipper stopped abruptly.

“What?”

“Me and Bill have completely different senses of morality,” she pointed out, a sad look in her eyes.  “What if something big happened and you had to choose?  Bill and Nicolas, or me?”

“Well, why would you make me choose?” he asked, irritation creeping into his voice.  
  
“Because I’m a _human_!  I’m not like the rest of your family!  Dipper, I’m glad you’re happy, I _am_ , but I think the life you have now just…”  She sighed looking away from him.  “It just won’t fit with mine.  I can’t live forever just to watch the world bend to Bill Cipher’s whim.”

“Mabel…”  All those years, all the times he’d just _known_ that Mabel would choose immortality to be with him…  “Is that it then?  Just…  No?”

She turned back at him, and his heart broke even before she opened her mouth.

“Yeah Dipper, just no.”

No.  No, this wasn’t how it was supposed to be!  His sister was supposed to share forever with him!  She was supposed to see how good this deal was!  Where had everything gone wrong…?

“…What happened to us?”

“Bill.”

Her blunt tone brought his former irritation back.  It was always back to that!

“ _Mabel_ —!”

“Dipper, no, it’s true.”  He wanted to argue, but…  Was she really wrong?  “Bill gave you what you wanted, right?  Power and love.  Of course that’s going to change you.  Even if you’d gotten with Wendy, falling in love was going to change things between us.  It just changed a _lot_ in this case.  I’m just afraid…  Maybe Bill could be…  Using you.”

“Of course you think that,” he muttered, feeling so defeated, so tired.  “Everyone but me and Nicolas think that.”

“And if you’re right and I’m wrong,” she paused, and he knew she didn’t believe that was the case, “that’s my mistake.”

“…Yeah, sure.”  He didn’t even want to argue anymore.  He really didn’t want to talk to her at all.  Not right then.  Not when so much of his careful planning was all for naught.

“Brobro?”

He sighed—what else was there left to say?

“What now?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” he laughed, his eyes beginning to sting.  “ _Me too_.”

\---

Nicolas quickly got tired of watching his papa and aunt’s still bodies.

“I’m pretty sure we don’t need to watch them constantly, so let’s do something else instead.”  At Ominis's raised eyebrow, Nicolas flushed and pointed at Dipper.  “That _isn’t_ what I meant!  Papa is _right there_.  J-just come on, I’ll show you the television.”

Nicolas plopped down on the lumpy sofa, smiling when Ominis sat as closely next to him as was possible.  He leaned into Ominis and grabbed the remote.  Recalling his little lesson with Pacifica, he hit the power button.  The TV turned on, a man in a suit coming on the screen.

“What is the _news_?”  Ominis asked after a few seconds.  Nicolas shrugged, thinking that whatever it was, it was pretty boring.

“Dunno.  I only watched babies slapping each other and grown men punching each other.  The old man really liked violence.”  He didn’t tell Ominis that he rather enjoyed the boxing.  Or, at least, the boxers.

“— _ten year sentence has almost been served.  Parole has been denied every year since his incarceration_ —”

Not caring about whatever was being discussed, Nicolas pressed the correct button to change the channel.  A bunch of names were scrolling over a black screen, and Nicolas almost changed it again, when it suddenly ended.  A commercial popped up, saying that a new program would soon start.  Nicolas waited a moment—the name of the miniseries, whatever _that_ was, sounded interesting—intrigued when it started and everything was animated.

“Wanna watch this?” he asked, rather liking the song that was playing over the lovely pictures.  There was a cat!  And oh, he thought, the man chopping wood had such _power_ with that axe…

“Very well.”  Nicolas knew that was code for _yes-this-looks-good_ and set the remote down.  “…Is that child wearing a teapot on his head?”

“Yeah, and the other kid is dressed like a gnome, but he’s way too tall!”

They settled down to watch the show, and Nicolas was secretly very glad that things were calm, at least for a little while…

Because when his dad was back, there wouldn’t be an opportunity for such simple pleasures for quite a while.


	15. Chapter 15

“This is dumb.”  Ominis hummed in agreement.  Nothing they’d found after the first thing they’d watched was any good.  And even then, Ominis had spent a good half-hour teasing him about how much he’d liked it.  He hadn’t swooned when that older human had broken a rock with an axe, really, he _hadn’t_!  “And why are there so many channels with _news_?”

“They seem very concerned about this strange looking young man escaping from prison.”

Nicolas groaned.  He didn’t want to hear anymore about that weird baby-faced man that broke out of jail when he had less than a year left.  What did he care about something like _that_?  What made it so important to have so many bulletins about it?

“Whatever, I’m bored!”  He hit the power button on the remote and shut the television off.  “Absolutely no one has tried to get around the barrier, Papa is still in Aunt Mabel’s dreams, Dad isn’t back, no one outside has woken up…”  Somewhere in the shack, there was a pig, but Nicolas doubted it was up for much more than sleeping or eating.

“You should be glad there’s a bit of peace,” Ominis reminded him, running his claw-tipped hands through Nicolas’s hair.  “If nothing else, it’s allowing Mister Cipher to recharge.  He’s been quite reckless with his magic usage today.  This downtime will do wonders for him.”

“Yeah, Papa has been really tense since Dad left, and it hasn’t really been that long.  Like, at all.” How long did killing a giant psychic baby take anyway? It wasn’t exactly something he could read in a book.  Hell, he was finding that the human world tended to go against most of the things he’d studied about it anyway.  “Not being able to feel Dad through their bond must really be messing with him.”

“I know I would be quite perturbed if I could no longer sense you, and we haven’t been bonded for nearly as long as they have.  I think it’s natural he could feel a degree of discomfort.”  Ominis paused, taking his hand out of Nicolas’s hair to tilt his chin up gently.  “Our bond is not as extensive as theirs, but I know if you were to die, I would still not be long for this world.  I’ve lived for centuries, but without you…”

Nicolas flushed deeply as Ominis kissed him softly.  How had he ever gotten so lucky to find his soulmate within his familiar?

“Hey kids!  Time to break up the party!”

Nicolas and Ominis both broke apart at the familiar voice.  Nicolas looked around, but he could neither see nor sense the voice’s origin.  Not that he was completely surprised—Bill was very good at hiding his presence, it was just that typically he was confident enough in his victory that he didn’t bother to.  Unless, of course, he wanted to mess with someone.

“Dad?”  Nicolas got to his feet, looking over at his still sleeping papa.  Ominis followed suit and quickly was at Dipper’s side, shaking his shoulder to wake him.  “Where are you?  Is the Time Baby dead?”

“Well, _I’m_ not dead, and Pine Tree is sleeping like a log, but _he_ isn’t dead…”

“You could have retreated,” Nicolas huffed, crossing his arms, knowing full well that such a thing would never happen.  “Come on Dad, where are you?”

“Right here!”  Nicolas yelped at the sudden weight on his head, quickly picking him up and holding up in front of his face.

“Dad, that’s weird!” he scolded, though he wasn’t actually annoyed.  Mostly he was relieved to see his parents were both alive.  “So you won, right?  Nothing really feels different…”

“Nah, it probably wouldn’t!”  Nicolas let go of him, but Bill stayed where he was, floating and looking as if he hadn’t a care in the world.  It seemed likely that he didn’t.  “I just made sure the future wouldn’t be stopped by that sack of fat and its annoying little gnats!  It won’t affect the present other than time agents not messing around here.”

“I guess I just expected something… bigger.”  Nicolas wasn’t quite sure how to put it.  “Like, getting rid of the Time Baby would, I dunno, reshape the world in your image or something.”

Bill stared at him for a moment, and then he began to laugh.  Loudly.  Rather obnoxiously.  And Nicolas felt his papa waking up during it.

“Ah…  Bill?  You’re back.”  Dipper stood up with Ominis’s help, and they came closer.  Mabel stayed asleep.  “What’s so funny?”

“Our kid is a riot, Pine Tree!  So precious!”  If Nicolas’s face hadn’t already been red from the laughter, it would have been at that point.  “Kid, I see myself everywhere I go already.  All this means is that there is no force on this planet, present or future, that can stop me.  We’ve won, and our prize is complete reign.  We don’t have to do everything all at once though.”

“O-oh…”  Why did that seem too easy?  Why did it feel like there was something important that he wasn’t being told? “Then, what _are_ we gonna do next?”

“You and your loverboy are going back home, first of all.  Then we’ll be back after we take care of a few loose ends.”  He gestured to Mabel.  “Like, all these sleeping meat sacks!”

“I have to leave _again_?”  Nicolas knew he probably sounded whiny, but would it really kill his parents to let him do more?  He thought of how many times he’d managed to screw up since all of this had started.  It was…  Painful.  No matter how well he’d done against the creatures back home, and no matter how much he’d studied human culture, it hadn’t mattered.  He’d looked like a fool multiple times in multiple ways.  He wanted to be as powerful as everyone else!

Sometimes, he could admit only in his head, he felt so useless.  Some tengu he was.

“Nicolas?”  Ominis’s voice was gentle, and yet again, Nicolas felt guilt fill him.  Ominis deserved a better master than him.  One didn’t screw up so much.  One who didn’t feel like he was going to start crying any second.

“N-never mind!” he answered aloud, putting on a bored face and waving his hand dismissively.  “If we have to go, let’s go.  I’m sick of all these stupid humans anyway.”

Ominis didn’t look convinced, and Dipper looked concerned.  Bill looked the same as always, but if the other two weren’t fooled, he doubted that his demonic father was either.

“That’s a good kid!  Now, play nice until we’re home!”

At least no one was bringing it up.

“Of course, Dad.”  He tried to smile.  It wasn’t as easy as it usually was.  “No worries.”

Much to his surprise, all he got before the teleportation was a light bump to the shoulder.  Great, he thought.  If his dad wasn’t almost stabbing him, he _must_ have realized there was something wrong.  The last thing Nicolas wanted was for everyone to realize he was upset.

“Nicolas.”  He froze at the tone of Ominis’s voice.  It was too worried, too close to pity.  Even if Ominis couldn’t read his thoughts, they still shared an emotional bond.  He couldn’t hide much from _anyone_ it seemed, but certainly not his familiar.  But he didn’t want this, not now.  He just wanted to…  What?  What did he want to do?  He didn’t know, he just didn’t want to feel like this anymore.  “Nicolas, _stop_.  Please, just turn around and look at me.”

“Look, nothing’s wrong, okay?  Let’s just drop—”

Nicolas lost all ability to speak as Ominis was suddenly at his back, holding the Megiddo against Nicolas’s chest so that he was forced to stay in place.  Nicolas didn’t struggle; he couldn’t do much more than stand there, willingly trapped.

“Everything is _not_ alright.”  Nicolas didn’t need to see Ominis’s face to know the older man was perturbed.  “You need to stop doing this to yourself.  No one is judging your abilities except for yourself.  Your parents are both proud of you. _I_ am proud of you.  You need to be more proud of _yourself_.”

“Funny,” he murmured, a wry smile on his face, “everything I’ve read about other tengus says that we’re _very_ prideful creatures.”

“You have pride in abundance, in other ways,” Ominis corrected gently.  “But not when it comes to comparing yourself to your fathers, nor to me.  Nicolas, you are very young in comparison, and you are being taught by creatures not your own.  You are doing amazingly well.  And I am so very grateful to call you my master.”

Nicolas could feel that familiar stinging behind his eyes.  He screwed them shut—he wasn’t going to cry, he _wasn’t_.  He wasn't a _child_!

“Ominis…”

Slowly, the Megiddo lowered, but when Nicolas didn’t turn around, Ominis wrapped his arms around him.

“Nicolas, I love you, and I have devoted my life to you.   So I implore you, do not compare yourself to me, nor your fathers.  Be _you_ , and you will succeed.”

“…And if I don’t?” he asked softly, leaning back into Ominis’s embrace.

“Then I will be there to aid you, for that is what partners do.”

Ominis said it with such conviction that Nicolas finally wiggled around to face his familiar.  Ominis’s normally unreadable face now clearly showed his affection, and it made Nicolas’s heartbeat quicken.

“Partners…?”

“Yes,” Ominis agreed, bringing the hand not holding the Megiddo up to gently caress the side of Nicolas’s face, “if I may be so bold.  You are my master, and I, your servant.  But we both work best together, as partners.  In work, and in life.  Would you not agree?”

“The _in life_ part, sure.”  He loved Ominis so much that he’d done whatever he’d had to do to make his familiar gain to power to shapeshift.  He didn’t doubt their love at all.  “But fighting…  The rest of you are so great with fire, and all I have is wind.”

“You also have flight, an amazing speed, and perfect balance,” came the reminder, and Nicolas supposed that those were all true.  “Besides, fire and wind are perfect compliments.  With small flames, you can snuff them out.  And with large ones, you an flame them into a frenzy.  You did threaten those humans with a fire tornado, did you not?”

“Y-yeah, I did.”  He hadn’t really thought of it that way.  In the past, they’d mostly trained solo, but he thought that was going to have to change.  There wouldn’t be much that could stop them together!  He began to smile, only or it to turn into a grimace when he remembered what else had happened when he’d issued that threat.  “I also got accused of stealing your lines and looked like a dummy.”

“Hush,” Ominis chuckled, leaning down to give him a brief peck on the lips, “you did not.  It was very flattering.  You are so very impressive when your confidence shines through.”

“Even if I’m just pretending?”

“Yes, even then,” Ominis assured, pulling away from the embrace.  He lead Nicolas over to the lounge’s sofa, propping the Megiddo up, then sat down and pulled Nicolas into his lap.  Nicolas didn’t protest, instead moving to straddle Ominis and make himself comfortable.  “Nicolas, a few mishaps does not change everything you did to help during all of this.  Just learn from them and put them out of your mind.”

Put things out of his mind, huh?  He smiled and leaned in, pushing his body closer to his familiar.

“...Help me with that?”

“Your parents will be home soon,” Ominis warned gently, but Nicolas noted that it certainly wasn’t a _no_.

“Just kiss me, okay?”

Ominis smiled, placing his hands on Nicolas’s hips and bringing them even closer than before.  Nicolas gasped at the contact—there wasn’t any closer to go than _this_.

“As you wish…”

\---

“Maybe we should have told him.”  After seeing the look on Nicolas’s face, Dipper was really starting to think it would have been for the best.  “He seems to know this isn’t the end of it.”

“There’s nothing he can do now, Pine Tree, you know that.  The best thing he can do is stay there and stay out of trouble.  We’ll put protections on both him and the crow when we get back.  If anyone tries to start trouble with me, they won’t get dragged into it.”

“Nicolas must have thought I was crazy for worrying so much when you weren’t gone for long.  I mean, I missed you, of course I did, but we aren’t even done, and—”

“Woah, calm down there.  We’ve got some time before anything happens.”  _Some time_.  That was really all it was, wasn’t it?  “I mean, yeah, I was gone a lot longer than it seemed to you, killing all those Time Agents.  So I was gone long enough for anyone with a little bit of know-how to tell I was gone.  Of course some punk is bound to try to take me on now that the Time Baby is out of my way.  Defeat me, get all this freedom I have now.  It’s really only a matter of time.  But it’s not going to happen _today_.”

“We’re basically going to be targets forever now.” It wasn’t as if he hadn’t known this was coming.  Bill had said made sure he understood that very well.  Still, it was now a reality that he’d have to face for the rest of his immortal life.

“That’s what comes with being married to the most powerful being in this universe!” Bill agreed, twirling his cane lazily.  He didn’t look upset, but then again, he rarely did.  Dipper tried to let that calm his nerves—if Bill was so relaxed, immediate danger likely wasn’t present.

“Well, I guess Nicolas will realize it soon enough anyway.”  If he hadn’t already, that was.  The vague idea had probably crossed his mind with as many years as he’d watched Bill almost get summoned.  “No point in making him worry.”

“And no point in _you_ worrying either,” Bill added, tapping his cane gently—well, gentle for _Bill_ at least—against the top of Dipper’s head.  “Come on, who is really going to be a threat right _now_?  We’ve got hundreds of years at least!  You’ll all be a lot stronger by then.”

“Yeah…”  He knew there was still a lot that Bill could teach all three of them.  Honestly, he’d been a little surprised with how much he’d been able to do without Bill right there with him.  “Hey Bill?”

“What is it, Pine Tree?”

“Look into my memories,” Dipper urged, a small smile on his face.  “See what happened while you were gone.”

“…It must have been pretty impressive if you _want_ me to poke around in there.”

“ _Just look_.”

Bill laughed and put both of his hands against Dipper’s cheeks.  Blue flames surrounded the points of contact, and Bill’s eye went hazy as he prodded around Dipper’s mind.

“Wow, outdoing yourself aren’t you?  Takes a lot of magic to keep the barrier up from so far away.”  Dipper said nothing, waiting for him to get to the good part.  “…You made a time agent explode.”

“I did.”  Dipper laughed at the awe in Bill’s tone.  “Nicolas was gone and I wasn’t about to let anyone trying to break up our family go unpunished.”

“And you know about how those tengus died,” Bill continued.  His words were oddly soft, and Dipper reached up to slowly stroke one of Bill’s sides. Bill’s whole body shivered.

“I killed Blandin before Nicolas got back and told me about that, but yeah.”  He let his hand drop, studying Bill carefully.  “I know you killed them so we’d have a child.  You know, I didn’t have any idea that you were so worried I’d leave.  I mean, even if I’d _wanted_ to stay with Mabel, you didn’t have to let me.”

Bill sighed, turning and floating a little closer to the sleeping woman.  He looked at her for a few moments, before he turned aback around.

“Pine Tree, think about all the time we’ve been together since our bond.  When have you _ever_ told me me to stop, and I haven’t done it?”

“Well…”  He thought about what disagreements they had.  They’d usually been petty, but anytime he’d _explicitly_ said no… “Never.  Not that I can remember.”

“Exactly.”

It was a thing he’d noticed a few times in the past, but Bill had never come out and admitted that he, what?  Respected Dipper’s boundaries?  Cared more about consent then most humans?  Wanted Dipper to be _happy_?

“Wait, so are you saying that if I’d really wanted to stay—”

“Don’t think too much into it.”  Bill might have been more convincing if Dipper hadn’t been able to sense the sincerity in the demon.  Dipper knew Bill would never let anyone else see this, but if only his family could see how well he’d been treated all of those years…  Maybe they could understand why neither of them cared how old Dipper had been when it had started.

“Well, that was _remarkably_ sweet, but you didn’t have to worry.  I didn’t want to leave you.”  He held out his hand, and Bill floated back over to it, placing his own small hand within Dipper’s.  “I love you Bill, whether anyone understands it or not.  And trust me, they really don’t.”

“Shooting Star said no.”  It wasn’t a question, and Bill didn’t even have to look into him mind to know that.  It _stung_.  Everyone seemed to have known she wouldn’t agree but him.  “…You okay?”

“I will be.”  He would.  They were adults, Mabel had a lover and was going to school, and he was married with a child.  He hated to think about it, but they _could_ live without each other.  That didn’t mean it hurt to think that one day his twin just… wouldn’t be there.  “Let’s just go home.  I don’t want to think about upcoming attacks for a while.”  …Or Mabel.

“You got it, Pine Tree.  We’ll go right now.”  Dipper was glad Bill didn’t ask if he wanted to say goodbye to anyone.  He wasn’t sure he could take that right now.  “Hey, maybe we can catch the kids doing something embarrassing and tease them about it for the next few years!”

“ _Bill_!”

\---

Mabel opened her eyes, and through her hazy mind, she slowly realized that she was alone.

“Dipper…?”  She stood up, ignoring the terrible crick in her neck, looking for any sign of her brother or her nephew.  “Nicolas?  Anyone?”

She heard noises from outside and peeked through a window.  Stan, Wendy, Soos, and Pacifica were all waking up too, softly talking amongst themselves.  She saw Stan ask Pacifica something, but her girlfriend just shook her head, looking more sad than anything.

Mabel might not have been psychic, but she somehow knew that the Cipher family was gone.  After all, there was no barrier, no sleeping spells, and no bodies.  And that meant Bill had _won_.

She hadn’t convinced Dipper of anything.  She didn’t even know if she’d ever see him again.

But even without magic, Mabel had good intuition.  She knew she’d made the right choices.  And she, at least somewhat, believed Dipper when he said Bill had no interest in ruling the world—that the demon only wanted to have no competition.  But she knew there was more than that.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that something very terrible was going to happen soon…  And the worst part was that she wasn’t even afraid _Bill_ was going to be behind it.


	16. Chapter 16

A week passed, and Mabel heard nothing from her brother, nor his family.

They’d spent the first few days cleaning up the mess that the Ciphers’ had left in their wake, and Mabel never thought she’d seen her grunkle look so sad as he did when he looked at the machine that should have been used to bring his twin brother back.

Stan hadn’t wanted to speak of it, and no one pressed him.

Mabel tried to put things out of her mind too, using the excuse that she still had her online summer classes to tend to.  Pacifica had taken to staying with her, watching Mabel work and not saying much.  Mabel had considered asking her girlfriend what she and Nicolas had done after going back in time, but she too didn’t seem eager to speak of the prior week.  _No one_ wanted to, so no one did.

The silence was starting to drive Mabel crazy, and on the eighth day since she had seen Dipper, it became apparent that everyone was wound up to the snapping point.

“Argh, what the hell is that?  Get out of here you stupid bird!”

Wendy’s voice could be heard clearly throughout the shack, and Mabel—who had been writing an essay on why yarn and chiffon were a highly underrated combo—felt Pacifica tense beside her.  Mabel was about to tell her it was nothing, but Pacifica was already up and walking towards the gift shop.  After a quick save, Mabel was on her heels.

“Leave that thing alone,” Pacifica snapped, just as Mabel was able to see Wendy shooing away a crow in the window with a broom.  Oh no, she thought, not now.  Don’t let this be happening.

“Look, I know you were all buddy-buddy with that little monster, but that has nothing to do with me getting a pest out of the shack.”  Wendy’s voice was just as frayed as Pacifica’s.  “So just go back to whatever you were doing, Northwest.”

“Excuse me?”  Mabel looked between them—both women looked like they would take any excuse to fight.  This wasn’t good.  “Nicolas was a good kid.  Besides, he’s not even really a crow!”

“Well his little bodyguard _was_.  What if that’s him spying on us?”

“What would he have to spy for?  They’re done with us.”

“We don’t know that!”

“Okay,” Mabel cut in, standing between the two and putting up her hands to stop them, “we’re all friends here, right?  Let’s just calm down and—”

“How can anyone calm down?”  Wendy snapped, throwing the broom to the floor.  “Dipper’s been completely brainwashed by that demon.  He _killed_ someone!  They could come back anytime, and there’s nothing we can do to stop them!  How am I supposed to be _calm_?”

“He wouldn’t hurt us,” Mabel insisted, though she sounded more confident than she felt.  Would he?  Probably not without one of them putting Nicolas’s life in danger, she thought, and since she didn’t plan on doing that she was probably safe.  It was still a concerning thought.

“And Nicolas said he and Bill aren’t allowed to hurt Dipper’s friends or family either,” Pacifica added, still not sounding pleased.

“Well you could have fooled _me_.”  Wendy’s hand rose up to rub the sore spot on her head from where Nicolas slammed it on the ground.  “Look, trust me, I want to believe we could get our Dipper back too, but unless we could go back in time and stop all of this from happening, it just…  It doesn’t look good.”

It really didn’t, and Mabel was very close to giving up altogether.  But this was her _twin brother_.  Wasn’t there something—anything—that could get through to him?  To make him see?

But, to see _what_ , exactly?  Dipper seemed to be aware of all the terrible things Bill had done, from taking him away and grooming him and murdering two—admittedly terrible—creatures to steal their baby…  Dipper just didn’t care.  Wendy was right; Dipper was brainwashed to the point that nothing but doing the past over would help.  If only she could go back to the day she told everyone that Dipper had wet the bed for so long and just not say anything.  Maybe Dipper never would have started anything with Bill in the first place.

But with the Time Baby and his agents all dead, that was impossible.

…Or was it?

“Pacifica, I think we should go somewhere else.”  She grabbed Pacifica’s hand and led her away from Wendy, who didn’t look like she really wanted company anyway.  When they were back in Mabel’s makeshift bedroom, she locked it behind them and gave her girlfriend a serious look.  Pacifica immediately looked on guard.  “Did Nicolas keep the tape measure that Blandin gave him to use?”

“What?”  Mabel was about to explain, thinking Pacifica didn’t know the significance of the item, when she suddenly became the target of Pacifica’s glare.  “Mabel Pines, you cannot seriously be thinking of taking it and changing the past.  Tell me that isn’t what you want to do.”

“Um…  Yes?”

Pacifica looked _livid_.

“Do you have any idea what could happen if you did that?  What definitely _would_ happen?  Mabel, what if _we_ never happened?  What if I ended up listening to that damn bell my entire life?  Dipper might be away from Bill, but he’d never meet Nicolas, and Nicolas would never meet Ominis.  And do you really think Bill not having Dipper there will be any better?  Seems like he stops Bill from doing a lot of bad things.  You don’t even know if changing the past will stop _anything_.  Maybe your brother just honestly loves that demon and this is just who he is.”

Mabel listened–she hadn’t thought about any of that.  But…  Would those things be that bad?  She and Pacifica could still be together.  And surely, if she weren’t ignoring Dipper as she had been back then, she could talk him out of things…

“No way,” she insisted when Pacifica was done, “Dipper would never act like that on his own!”

_‘I hate everyone at school.  Bunch of jerks.’_

_‘I wish a big hole would just open up and suck everyone up.  No, not_ you _Mabel.’_

_‘Is it really so hard for people not to be assholes?  Can’t they just be nicer?’_

Words of the past began to whisper in Mabel’s mind.  Dipper had never had any friends besides her before coming to Gravity Falls.  And their parents had never liked his love of mysteries.  Maybe…  Maybe changing one day _wouldn’t_ make a difference.  But could she really just sit there and do nothing?  Even if Bill wasn’t doing anything now, that didn’t mean he couldn’t later.  If she just had that tape…

“No.”

“No what?”

“No, I’m not helping you get that tape.”  Pacifica’s tone wasn’t like it was when they tried to summon Ominis.  She was far more confident in her refusal.  “I know what that look in your eyes says, and I’m not helping you this time.  No way, not when we don’t have any reason to.”

“But Bill—”

“Did you listen to a word I said?” Pacifica questioned, her hands going to her hips.  “We don’t know that Bill isn’t going to do something worse without Dipper there.  Bill can’t even hurt you.  And what do you care what they do after we die?  Sixty, seventy years is probably nothing to an immortal.”

“Because it’s wrong!  Dipper is turning into something terrible!  I can’t let him do that!”

“That’s not your decision to make!  Dipper’s an adult with a family, whether you accept it or not.  And I’m not helping you get that tape.  I’m not going to risk going back to who I used to be!”

Mabel watched silently as Pacifica rushed out of the room.  She didn’t grab her things, but Mabel would be surprised if she came back that night.

…Why was everything going so _wrong_?

\---

It hadn’t taken long after their return for Dipper to decide that there was nothing to worry about.  Mabel was an adult, and besides, she likely didn’t want to see him anytime soon anyway.  She’d certainly made her stance on immortality pretty clear. He’d give her a few years and try again.  Perhaps as she got older, she’d been more open to the idea of not dying.

“Still not giving up on Shooting Star?”

“I can’t.”  Dipper flipped through the journal that rested in his lap.  He’d made lots of headway getting through them since they’d returned home.  “You know I can’t.”

“You _are_ persistent, even in completely hopeless situations!”  Dipper shook his head, but didn’t grace that assessment with a response otherwise.  “You know, if I weren’t the most powerful being in this universe and the best husband ever, I might be worried about how much you want her to accept your deal.”

“Well then, I guess it’s a good thing you _are_ the most powerful being in the universe and the best husband, because you absolutely should not worry.”  He wondered what his family would say if they heard him saying those things.  Probably more about how brainwashed he was.  As if.  “I know I can’t force Mabel into this, if she doesn’t want it.  You’ve never even forced me into anything.  Not really.”

“…That might be giving me a little too much credit.”

Was he?  Bill didn’t have to do things the way he had.  If Bill wanted a happy little slave, he could have turned Dipper into one.  But they were married—demon married, it still counted as far as Dipper was concerned—and they had a child—adopted, but definitely still counted.  Bill didn’t have to allow Dipper so much power or freedom.  He didn’t have to help Dipper raise Nicolas.  He didn’t have to do a _lot_ that he did.

“That’s funny, because I was thinking that everyone else wasn’t giving you enough credit.”

“…What are you reading about, Pine Tree?”

Dipper smiled and allowed Bill to save his demonic pride.

“I’m up to an entry on hellhounds, but I found this earlier.”  He placed a bookmark where he’d left off, then turned to a different marker a ways back.   A sketch of a winged humanoid showed prominently on the pages.  “Seems like Nicolas’s birth parents weren’t the first crow tengus to end up in Gravity Falls.  That place is crazy enough to attract other cultures’ cryptids.”

The journal didn’t really have anything new to say that Dipper hadn’t learned from his own research or simply by having a tengu as a child.  In fact, it was quite incomplete.  It seemed like the author hadn’t gotten much of an opportunity to study the species.  Dipper had been very tempted to add some of his own experiences to the pages—excellent at potty training and terrible at teething came to mind, but he suspected Nicolas would be mortified if he ever saw _that_.

“It’s been that way forever.  I don’t remember Stanley mentioning any tengu, but if it happened after he turned down my offer, I probably wouldn’t have been around to hear about it.”  Stan’s twin…  Dipper’s grandfather, Stanley.  Neither of them had mentioned anything about the man since their return, until that very moment.  “That was a waste of my time…”

“Why did he say no, anyway?”  Dipper asked, not able to suppress the feeling that he was very glad that Stanley had done just that.  “Whatever happened, he was pretty clear in your journal entry that you’re not to be trusted.”

“Smart of him,” Bill laughed, though he calmed down quickly.  “I offered him pretty much what I offered you—power and knowledge.  Then he asked why I wanted to be in the physical world so badly, and ‘ _I want to kill the Time Baby and be the most powerful being in the universe’_ didn’t seem noble enough to him.  Just think, he called me untrustworthy when I said he was an imbecile of a bleeding heart!  Can you just _imagine_?”

“I can, actually.”  Not that Dipper himself had known about everything when he and Bill had first bonded, but he supposed his grandfather had held different ideals than he did.  “But if he’d said yes, all of this would never have happened.  You’d be married to my grandfather instead.  I wouldn’t even be born.”

Bill was quiet.  Much too quiet.  Dipper watched him carefully, wondering what about his words had caused Bill to freeze like that.  What he’d said had only been the truth…

“I never had sex with your grandfather.”

“Well that’s a relief,” Dipper chuckled, still not sure why Bill was being so serious.

“And I never made it sound like we’d be married if he agreed to bind with me.”  Bill turned his gaze to the side, and Dipper found himself becoming a bit worried.  Just where was Bill going with this?  “Even though it would have been the same procedure, it wouldn’t have been what we had.  It would have been a business venture, not a marriage.  I wouldn’t have lived like _this_ with Stanley.  I definitely wouldn’t have raised a kid with him.”

Suddenly, it hit Dipper.  He knew what Bill was trying to say.

“Bill, it’s alright, I get it.”  Bill looked back at him, and Dipper could feel warm emotions seeping through their bond.  Emotions from Bill’s end very rarely made it through unless Bill willed it.  The fact that Dipper could feel them now meant only one thing.  “I’m glad he said no.  No matter what Mabel and the others think, I know I could never be happier than I am right here.  With you, forever.”

“…Good,” Bill crossed his arms and closed his eye, but that affectionate feeling coming from the bond only seemed to become stronger, “because I’m not sorry for anything that’s happened!”

“I’m not either.”  He plucked Bill from the air and held him close, ignoring the little “hmph!” from his demonic husband.  “I love you.”

“And you’re not so bad yourself, Pine Tree.”  Dipper hummed in satisfaction, lightly running his fingers over Bill’s upper sides.  As with the rest of him, they were deceptively warm and thrummed with eldritch magic.  “H-hey, if you do that—”

“I know,” Dipper cut in, placing a kiss to the back of Bill’s body.  “You’re basically a _god_ now, right?  So just let me worship you for a bit.”

Bill groaned at his words, his body shuddering in pleasure.  Dipper felt the sound go straight to his cock.

“What’s that make you, being the husband of a god?”  Dipper ran a finger over Bill’s bottom side, using more pressure than before.  “Pine—”

“Say it.”  Dipper’s tone left no doubt that he was serious.  “If you’re going to insinuate that, then you’d better follow through.”

“ _D-dipper_.”  That hitch in Bill’s voice made Dipper’s erection strain painfully in his pants.  He stopped just long enough to free himself and then sat down on the nearby bed and placed Bill in his lap, his cock rubbing up against Bill’s back.

“Say it all,” he insisted, gently rubbing the sensitive spot between Bill’s legs.  It felt just like the rest of Bill did, but the way he moaned told Dipper that it was so much more.  “Tell me what you always try to hide.  I know Bill.  I know what you want to say.  We’re _gods_ , Bill.  We can do _anything_.  So say it.”

Bill was moaning and trembling and very much pink with desire.  Dipper pressed down hard as he bucked against Bill’s body, making him gasp out.

“I love you, Dipper!  Fuck, don’t you dare stop or I’ll turn your skin inside out!”  Having heard the words he so rarely did, Dipper smirked, rubbing the spot in rhythm with his thrusts.  Bill’s body felt slick, even though Dipper saw no liquid anywhere.  He’d stopped questioning these things long ago—sex with Bill was really never worth trying to figure out.  “Hurry up and come.  _Come on me_.”

Dipper groaned, knowing that Bill was about at his peak, though he had no physical way of coming.  Until Dipper himself did, Bill was going to be stuck in that state.  It almost made him want to stop, to make Bill suffer a little for all the times the tables had been turned, but he was supposed to be rewarding Bill, so he sped up his thrusts.  He felt his climax coming fast, and before long, Dipper was groaning Bill’s name, spurting onto his back.  Shortly after, Bill cried out wordlessly, thick waves of magical power rolling off him.

They both sat silently for a while, composing themselves.  By the time Dipper had his breath back, Bill was back to his normal hue.  He raised his hand, finger poised to snap, but Dipper gently pushed it back down.

“Let’s not clean up just yet,” he murmured, pulling Bill closer.  “I just want to hold you like this for now, okay?”

“Fine, if you insist.”  Dipper might have believed Bill was really put out if he hadn’t settled himself further into Dipper’s lap.  “But I’m going to get you back for all of that, you know.

“I know,” Dipper agreed, laying another kiss to Bill’s side.  “I look forward to it.”

Bill didn’t respond, but he didn’t try to stop their emotional connection either.  Dipper let the rare unguarded display of affection wash over him, knowing that Bill’s words had been true.  He wouldn’t worry about his family back in Gravity Falls, or what they thought of his choices.  He knew that he was right, and that was good enough for him.

\---

“I take it that your parents were occupied?”

Nicolas nodded, knowing that his face must have been as red as the brightest ruby in Ominis’s collection.  He could have gone his entire life without hearing his dad tell his papa to come on him and have been perfectly content.

“Yeah, that’s a good way of putting it.  At least I only had to hear things through the door…”  Thankfully.  _So thankfully_.  “I’ll ask about the vault later.  Much later.  Like, in a week maybe.”

Ominis, who sat on Nicolas’s bed, chuckled and pulled him down.  Nicolas didn’t hesitate to settle himself in his lover’s lap.  This was a very good distraction from thinking of his parents, and he would gladly take it.

“I’m not sure why you want permission to use one of the weapons, if I’m to be honest.  If I may be frank?”  Nicolas nodded, knowing what was going to be said, but allowing it anyway.  “Your physical strength is not comparable to your magical prowess.  A battle-axe will be far too much.  If you insist on using a weapon, you should use something lightweight, which you can wield swiftly.”

“…I just want to be stronger.”

“I know you do.”  Ominis kissed the top of his head, then lifted his face up and placed a gentle peck to his lips.  “And that is why I will help you however I can.  Which includes warning you that a battle-axe is not for you.  I believe a rapier would be a far better choice.  I believe Master Cipher has a few with elemental enchantments.   Lightning _does_ fall under the wind elemental…”

“That _would_ be cool,” he agreed, imagining himself being able to do more than just manipulate the wind.  Sure, he was damn good at it, if he did say so himself, but he wanted more…  He was lagging behind.  He needed to catch up!  No matter how many times he heard that he was still young and couldn’t be expected to be an expert, it didn’t matter.  He wouldn’t be satisfied until he felt he could protect his loved ones as much as they were able to protect him.  “Thanks, Ominis.  You’re too good to me.”

“Nonsense,” Ominis insisted, running his fingers through Nicolas’s hair, his claws lightly scratching his scalp.  Nicolas shivered at the sensation.  “I would say the same to you.  I could think of no better master than you, my darling little tengu.  Now, since Master and Mister Cipher are unavailable, I do believe we should start working on your stamina.”

Nicolas didn’t need to ask what that entailed.  Ominis’s leaning down to nip at his neck said it all.

“Y-yeah, that sounds like a good plan.”

Well, it wasn’t the training Nicolas had been expecting that day, but he wasn’t going to say no to such a tempting offer.  Especially not when he felt Ominis’s hand slip further and further down his body.  Weapon training could definitely wait a little while longer.

\---

Mabel, despite knowing better, was still a little hurt when the sun began to set and Pacifica hadn’t come back.  She was tempted to call and apologize, to insist that she hadn’t meant to insinuate she wanted Pacifica to lose everything they’d made over the years.  But she would wait until the morning, let them both calm down a little more.

Because, honestly, Mabel still couldn’t help but wonder if getting that time tape would help everything.

She sighed as she stepped outside, Wendy and Soos both gone for the day, and Stan still down with that machine, trying to salvage something of it.  It was hopeless, and they all knew it, but he couldn’t give up on his brother anymore than she could with hers.  At least the evening was cool, with a nice little breeze, and—

“Why, if it isn’t Mabel Pines!  Well, well, aren’t you looking lovely, my dear.”

Mabel froze at the sound of that familiar voice, her blood running cold.  No way.  _No way_ , he was still in _prison_.  And yet, when she turned, she saw the absolute last person she wanted to see at that moment.  She’d take _Bill_ over _him_.

Why couldn’t something just go _right_ for a change?


	17. Chapter 17

Something was wrong.

Bill didn’t know precisely what that thing was, but it was out there, just waiting to muck up all of his carefully laid plans.  It was his own fault, he supposed.  He hadn’t been peeking in on places as much lately, not really seeing the point when there wasn’t anyone out there who could be a threat to him.  And he still stood by that; whoever was out there being a nuisance was just that—a little gnat that could be easily squashed.

So why couldn’t he shake that feeling that someone was at least going to try?

“Dad!  _Dad_!”  Bill stopped midair when he heard his son’s voice calling out to him.  Nicolas hadn’t spoken much in the past few days; not since Bill had sensed the boy outside his and Dipper’s bedroom while they were having sex.  Oh, hadn’t the embarrassment Nicolas had felt from _that_ been amusing!  Apparently though, he was over it, and he looking quite ready to talk.  “Can I get into the weapon vault?”

“Oh, you’re asking for _permission_ this time?” he teased, reaching out and poking Nicolas’s nose.  His son scrunched up his face for but a moment before lightly batting away his hand.

“You weren’t around and it was an emergency,” he insisted, though Bill knew he was mostly trying to justify himself.  Bill really didn’t care that he’d done it, to be honest.  The Megiddo was going to go to Ominis eventually anyway.  At least his son had the sense to give his familiar the right weapon.  Of course, Nicolas knew that crow better than he knew himself, so it really wasn’t a surprise.

“Sure, sure, whatever you say!  Now, what kind of weapon are we talking about?  Not a battle-axe, I hope?”

He’d heard Ominis teasing Nicolas about thinking axes were _cool_.  And Nicolas was definitely at the age where he wanted to look strong and cool and thought physical strength was better than magical prowess.  Such a silly child!

“No, no, of course not!”  Nicolas laughed nervously, and Bill knew who was to thank for getting that idea out of his son’s mind.  “I was thinking more like a rapier?  One infused with lightning!  Since I already can control wind, that should be pretty easy, right?”

Bill pondered over what he had, as well as the weapons Nicolas already used.  He didn’t really need those fans, they just helped to concentrate the power Nicolas already possessed.  Maybe if one of the swords was modified…

“Tell Ominis that he has a good eye for what’s best for you.”  Nicolas flushed just enough for Bill to know he was right.  “Leave your fans outside the vault and I’ll see what I can do.  I gotta take care of something first.  And I need you to do something else for me too.”

“What is it?”  He looked so eager to help that Bill almost laughed.  _Almost_.  The kid could be so cute when he wanted to prove himself.  As if Bill would have picked any other child to spirit away than the very best he could find.

“I need you to promise that the first time you kill someone with it, you’ll say a really terrible pun, okay?”

Nicolas looked confused for but a moment, then he rolled his eyes with an exasperated, “ _Dad_.”  Bill laughed as his son walked away, muttering about weird demonic parents.

When Nicolas was out of sight, Bill sobered.  He really _did_ have something to do, and he wanted to do it as quickly as possible.  Luckily, all it would take was looking through one of his many neglected windows and…

Nothing, nothing, nothing, Shooting Star and that annoying little cream puff…

Oh.   _Well_.  That explained the unnerving feeling he had.  Someone with a vendetta against him, talking with someone who had a vendetta against both him _and_ Dipper…

“Well, well, Shooting Star, just how much do you want to take your brother away from me?  Let’s see what you’re made of, kid…”

\---

Mabel didn’t know what she was doing.

She’d lied to everyone about where she was going and was sitting in Greasy’s Diner, Gideon Gleeful seated across from her.  He was, of course, disguised, though in Gravity Falls all it took to hide your identity was to wear a trench coat and big sunglasses.

She questioned again why she was meeting up with an escaped felon rather than calling the authorities and sending him right back to prison.  She couldn’t stand Gideon, and she sure as hell didn’t trust him.  And yet…

_“What are you doing here, Gideon?”_

_“Why, Mabel Pines, don’t look so frightened!  I felt it, you know, that demon’s power.  And your brother’s disappearance was all over the news when it happened.  I don’t need to be psychic to know the two are connected.  I’d say the two of us share a common goal.”_

This was such a terrible idea, but she couldn’t stop herself from at least hearing him out.

“All right,” Mabel murmured, looking around the diner to make sure no one was watching them—everyone was oblivious as always, “tell me what you want to say so I can realize how dumb I’m being and tell you to get lost.”

“Let me guess,” he drawled, his voice a little more sardonic than she liked, “you’d have your brother do it for you if he were here?”

Mabel frowned, not liking him reminding her of one of her more selfish moments.  She began to stand up.

“I’m leavin—”

“Now, now, calm down!”  Gideon held up his hands in a show of peace.  Mabel didn’t buy it, but she sat back down all the same.  “My darling Mabel—”

“I’ve been dating Pacifica Northwest for years.”

“Yes, yes, _that_ was all over the news too.  Very… _nice_.”  She felt a shiver run up her spine—god, Gideon was so fucking _creepy_.  “Now, as I was saying, I believe the two of us can help each other.  You want your brother back, and I want revenge on Cipher.   We can help each other obtain our goals.  After all, what better revenge than to take away that no good demon’s plaything?”

Mabel almost winced; she was pretty sure Dipper would have gotten _really_ angry if he’d heard himself called that. Of course, Dipper would be livid no matter what, even down to the basic fact that she was talking with Gideon in the first place.

“Okay, well, two things,” she began, not agreeing to anything until she had a few of her more burning questions answered.  “First, how do I know you won’t turn around and try to hurt Dipper?”

“It’s true you and your brother are more to blame for my incarceration than Cipher,” he explained immediately, as if he’d known she was going to ask that very question, “but if our deal had been honored, none of it would have happened in the first place.  Besides, my dear, I don’t think you’re looking at the big picture.  Tell me, how emotionally devastated will your brother be to be taken away from Cipher?  Why, honestly, you could say I would be getting revenge on them _both_.”

She tried to pretend that she hadn’t heard that very same thing from Pacifica.  The big difference was that with Pacifica, it was a warning.  With Gideon, it almost sounded like a _promise_.

“What makes you think Dipper would be _that_ upset?”  She knew he would be.  God, what was she even doing?  Dipper would never forgive her for this.  But then again, was that a bad thing?  Maybe if he was away from Bill, he’d go back to normal.  It was possible, right?  Maybe even probable!

“Call it intuition,” Gideon chuckled.  Mabel didn’t even want to know what his real reason was.  “Now, will you accompany me on this delightful journey of revenge and retribution?”

“Do you swear you won’t hurt Dipper?”

He laughed again, and Mabel knew—she _knew_ —that he couldn’t be trusted.  He was a terrible person with little to no morals, and he _would_ break his word.

“Not physically.”

But he was also her best chance at getting her Dipper back.

“And…”  She thought about her nephew.  He didn’t much like her, but he _was_ just a kid, and Pacifica had seen something in him worth fighting for.  If she wanted Dipper back, she couldn’t risk Nicolas getting hurt, and the best way she could think to do that was to just _not_ let Gideon know about him.  “And no one else will get hurt either.”

“I suppose as long as no third parties try to kill me first, that’s doable.”  Gideon held out his hand.  “Now, do we have a deal?”

“…Alright.”  She grasped it—there was no fire, but she still felt queasy to be touching him.  She pulled her hand back as soon as she could.  “Tell me your plan.”

“That’s my girl!”  Creepy.  He was creepy, creepy, _creepy_.  “Now, listen carefully.  The first thing we do is—”

\---

“Bill.”

“Pine Tree.”

Dipper had found Bill in the study, looking through a dusty old tome that was written in a language that even Dipper couldn’t immediately decipher.  He was almost distracted from the issue at hand by the mystery of what his husband was reading, but the image of a tengu darting down the corridors with a rapier in hand reminded him of why he was there.

“Don’t you _Pine Tree_ me.  Why is our son running around with a sword?”

“Because he wanted one.”  Dipper narrowed his eyes, and while they both knew full well that Dipper couldn’t really ever be intimidating to Bill, the demon still rolled his eye and gave in without a fuss.  “I infused his fans into the Nightingale.  It’s the best lightning-elemental rapier I had, and now it can focus his natural magic just like his fans did.  And he can stab things really hard.  What’s there to be concerned about?”

“Maybe the fact that he’ll be able to summon lightning _and_ tornados _and_ stab things, all with one sword.”  Just the tornado thing was worrying sometimes, seeing how prone Nicolas was to conniption fits outside of their home.  Now he was one dose of rain away from being able to summon an entire tropical storm.

“Hey, lightning is a derivative of wind.  He’ll be fine.”  It wasn’t really _Nicolas_ that Dipper was worried about, when it came to the lightning.  May the heavens have mercy on the soul who ever hurt Ominis in front of Nicolas _now_.  “Besides, Ominis is teaching him.”

Oh, _that_ was a relief.  Surely, nothing could go wrong _there_!

“Ominis was a _crow_ until a few weeks ago!  What does he know about sword fighting?”

“Pretty sure his last master was a fencer.  Even if he only watched, he should know enough.”  If Ominis had been anyone else, Dipper would have argued that.  But, well, the crow _was_ very talented.  It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that he had seen enough about fencing to teach Nicolas the basics.  And at least Dipper knew there was no way Ominis would ever let Nicolas get injured.  “It’s a _rapier_ , Pine Tree.  Nicolas can handle it.”

“I…  I know.”  He really did.  And he knew that if Nicolas heard him acting as if he _couldn’t_ handle it, Dipper would have one very upset son on his hands.  “I just hate thinking that he’ll have to use it.  Lately I can’t stop thinking that something bad is going to happen.  I know it’s stupid, but—”

“You’re the only human I _wouldn’t_ call stupid,” Bill interrupted, his attention now fully away from the book and completely on Dipper.  He couldn’t even begin to doubt Bill’s sincerity, and his face flushed just slightly.

“Thank you, but that doesn’t cure my paranoia.”

When Bill didn’t immediately follow that up with ‘ _Good luck with that, Pine Tree.  When are you ever_ not _paranoid?_ ’ Dipper knew that Bill had something else on his mind.  And he had a feeling he was about to find out what it was.

“Maybe if you were distracted it would clear that cluttered little head of yours.”

And there it was.

“If you want sex, you can just ask.”  He stepped closer and held out his arms, which Bill didn’t hesitate to float into.

“And where’s the fun in _that_?”  Bill asked as he got comfy in Dipper’s embrace.  “I like it when you just know what I want.  Reminds me why I married a meat sack.”

“You mean so you could exist physically in this world?” Dipper teased, running a finger along one of Bill’s sides.  Bill’s eye closed and Dipper felt him shiver slightly.

“That was part of it,” he admitted with no hesitance.  Dipper wouldn’t kid himself into thinking Bill would have bound them without some goal in mind.  “That and exactly what I’ve told you before—I like you Pine Tree.  I’ve lived for a long time, and you’re the only human I’ve ever _liked_.  You’re a pretty special meat sack, and a lucky one too, being married to me and all!”

Dipper shook his head and laughed—that was Bill all right, complimenting himself even as he praised someone else.

“Sometimes I think I must have been crazy to go with you when I was twelve.”

“You were!” Bill added cheerfully, as if nothing was wrong with that statement at all.  And as far as Dipper was concerned, there really wasn’t.  He had been reckless and foolish and love struck, but he didn’t care.  He’d gotten a family and power and immortality out of it.  He wouldn’t give any of it up—not even for a sister who just didn’t understand.

“Fine, I was.  _Anyway_.  What exactly did you have in mind?  Or are you going to make me guess?”  While Bill didn't say what he wanted, he didn’t make Dipper speculate either.  He didn’t have to—Bill reached down and touched right about where Dipper’s bladder was.  The familiar urge hit him immediately.  “Well aren’t you predictable?  _Argh_ , alright.  Am I wetting myself or pissing on you?”

Overall, it was just another normal day in the Cipher household.


	18. Chapter 18

“You know, they still haven’t found that escaped convict.  You knew him, didn’t you?”  Mabel nodded, not able to look Pacifica in the eyes.  She’d only just started coming back around the shack, and Mabel didn’t want to give her any reason to stay away again.  “…But more interestingly, I heard a _fascinating_ rumor that you were seen in that silly diner with a mysterious man.”

Mabel froze for but a moment before she snorted, waving her hand in a dismissive manner.

“Oh, you know the people in town…  They like to gossip!”  Still, she knew she couldn’t just say they were outright lying about seeing her with someone.  But she quickly thought of an excuse.  “It was just crowded and since we were both alone, we shared a booth.  That’s all.”

“Really?”  Pacifica asked, looking as if she was buying it.  “That’s it?”

“Yeah!  It was nothing, I swear.”

“You swear.”  Pacifica was quiet for a few moments, then she frowned.  Mabel felt a terrible feeling grow in the pit of her stomach.  “You lie to my face and swear it’s the truth?  Mabel Pines, what is _wrong_ with you lately?”

“What do you mean?”  She had a feeling that playing the fool wasn’t helping her, but she couldn’t just come out and say she’d met with Gideon.  That would be crazy!

“Don’t treat me like I’m an idiot,” Pacifica huffed, staring straight into Mabel’s eyes.  It took all Mabel could do not to look away.  “Susan described the guy to me.  How many people have white hair that they wear in _pompadours_ , of all things?  You were meeting with that convict!  What are you _doing_?”

That was a very good question.  Mabel wished she had an equally good answer.

“I just…  He got screwed over by Bill, and—”

“ _And_ you and Dipper,” Pacifica interrupted, though Mabel certainly didn’t need to be reminded of _that_.  “Do you really think you can trust this guy?”

“No, of course not!”  Mabel, after all, wasn’t stupid either.  “I know he’ll try something funny, but he has a plan to get Bill away from Dipper.  I just have to be ready to stop Gideon when he breaks his promise.”

Pacifica was quiet for a moment, before she said the exact words that Mabel did _not_ want to hear at that moment.

“…Dipper doesn’t want to get away from Bill.”

“Dipper doesn’t know any better!” she snapped, starting to lose her patience.  Pacifica just didn’t understand!  “Look, aren’t you at least glad I don’t want to use the time tape anymore?”

“Being the lesser of two evils is supposed to _impress_ me?  Mabel, do you have any idea how much my parents would _love_ to take me far away from you and force me to fall in love with a man?  Do you know how much they still call me being a lesbian a “phase?”  You’re sounding a lot like them right now, and I don’t like it at all.”

“This is completely different,” Mabel insisted, trying not to see the parallels her girlfriend was presenting.

“It doesn’t look that different to me.”

Mabel crossed her arms and glared off to the side, not able to take anymore of Pacifica’s disappointed expression.

“Yeah, well, I don’t like you comparing me to your parents just because I don’t want to see Dipper being evil!”

She heard Pacifica sigh and stand up.  Pacifica stopped beside her and gently pulled Mabel’s face towards her.  Her girlfriend looked as weary as Mabel felt.

“Dipper is in love.”  Her voice was soft, but very firm all the same.  “No matter what happened nine years ago, he fell in love and has a family, and you taking that away from him will only make that entire family angry.  Say that plan works.  Say Bill is destroyed or whatever, and Dipper was brainwashed and comes to his senses.  Are you forgetting that there’s another member of that family who loves his parents very much and would be _very_ angry if you took them away?  Nicolas isn’t brainwashed.  And I promise you that he’ll kill you if you take Bill away.  So if you’re prepared to kill Bill, you should be prepared to kill Nicolas too.  And let’s see how much Dipper appreciates _that_.”

Mabel flinched and batted Pacifica’s hand from her face, though she didn’t look away.

“…Why are you doing this?” she muttered, not able to see how Pacifica wasn’t on her side.  Or so she desperately pretended.

“Because _someone_ needs to tell you how selfish you’re being.”  Pacifica’s voice rose again, but she did well to not sound as irritated as Mabel knew she was.  “Stop thinking about yourself and _your_ morality and _your_ guilt and think about what your brother feels.  Because unless you know Bill better than Dipper does, maybe you’re wrong.  Maybe taking Bill away is the _worst_ thing you could do for Dipper.  Maybe you should be trying to connect with Dipper again and accepting him instead of refusing to listen to him.”

“He’s been—”

“Stop it!” she finally yelled, and for a brief moment, Mabel honestly thought that this might be it—Pacifica might be fed up enough to leave and never come back.  The thought terrified her, but it didn’t change her mind that she was right and Pacifica was wrong.  “Just _stop_.  I’m not getting through to you, and it’s obvious that you’re going to do what you want.  So go ahead, make a bigger mess of everything.  But don’t you _dare_ cry to me when you drive Dipper away forever.”

“I won’t.  Because I’m not wrong.”  _But she could be_.  “Dipper will be better when he’s away from Bill.”

“And if he _isn’t_?  If he’s a wreck?  If he _hates_ you?”

“I…”  _I’d be devastated, I’d hate myself forever, I’d never forgive myself, I—_   “I don’t know.”

She knew her tone sounded defeated, and that was precisely how she felt.  Part of her thought that maybe Pacifica was right, but the part that insisted she was wrong was much stronger.  She had an emotional war tearing her apart, and there didn’t seem to be an answer that wouldn’t hurt _someone_.  She didn’t want to hurt anyone, honestly, but…  She couldn’t let Dipper stay with Bill, she just _couldn’t_.

“Then think really hard about this, because if you go through with this and it somehow works, you can’t go back.  And if it doesn’t work, well…”  Pacifica’s brows furrowed, and after a few moments, she shook her head slowly.  “You’d better hope Bill keeps his promises about not hurting you, because you’ll probably have a bunch of extremely mad creatures after you.”

“Pacifica…”  Mabel sighed and slumped in her chair, wanting nothing more than to just shut off her mind for a while.  “I just don’t know what to do.”

“I know you don’t.  That’s painfully obvious.”  Despite her words, Pacifica smiled _just slightly_.  “But no matter what, I do love you Mabel.  I don’t want to see you make a mistake that’s going to hurt you in the end.  So just think about what I’ve said, okay?  If you think I’m wrong, fine.  Just _think_ about it.”

Mabel nodded, knowing that she really wasn’t going to have a choice in the matter.

“Yeah, alright…”

“Good.  I have to go now, but I’ll come by tomorrow.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow.”

Pacifica leaned down and gave Mabel a quick kiss before leaving.  Mabel didn’t move from her spot for a very long time.  She said she’d think about Pacifica’s points, and she was going to.  Why couldn’t this just be black and white?  Why did both Pacifica and Gideon have to agree that this was going to hurt Dipper?  Why couldn’t she just be all right with knowing it would be worth him being upset as long as it brought her brother back?

But most of all, why did she know deep down that Dipper had already been lost, and there was no happy ending for them?

\---

“Not bad.  You’re doing quite well.”

Ominis didn’t even need to wait for Nicolas’s answer—he already knew what his master was thinking purely by the expression on his face.  Nicolas obviously felt this wasn’t coming as easily to him as he’d hoped.  It wasn’t that he wasn’t fast enough to wield the Nightingale, and he was doing well with the lightning magic, but the fencing part?  Well, it was obvious Nicolas had never touched a rapier a day in his life before his training began.

“And what would it take to make me _better_?”

Ominis chuckled and shook his head at his master’s slight pout.

“Nicolas, it has been a mere matter of days since you first took hold of the Nightingale.  You’ve already come very far, and there is a lot for you to learn about effectively wielding just the rapier itself, let alone the lightning-elemental magic it possesses.  All you can do to make yourself better is to keep practicing and not try to rush things.”

Telling a tengu not to rush seemed like a silly thing to say, but it truly was the only way Nicolas would get through his training without working his self-esteem to the breaking point.  Of course, Nicolas didn’t like that answer, glaring down at the rapier in his hand like it had personally offended him.

“I know, but I—”

“Tell me, who taught you to properly use your powers?”

Nicolas looked surprised at the sudden question, but he answered honestly all the same.

“Dad mostly.  He gave me the fans too.  He said they were the kind other tengu use.”

“And was Master Cipher encouraging, or did he seem discouraged with your failures?”

“He…”  Ominis might not have been around at that time, but he already knew the answer—Bill Cipher held many secrets and told many lies, but the affection he held for his family was one of the few things Ominis didn’t doubt was genuine.  “He was always telling me how good I was doing.  That I was fast and talented and he was glad I was his son.”

“And surely you weren’t perfect at controlling the wind at first?”

“Oh, no way.”  Nicolas giggled, obviously remembering his past training.  “I’m pretty sure I took out a few walls before I got it down.”

“And yet, despite all of that, you are fully confident in that ability now, are you not?”

“Well, yeah, but I’m a tengu.  Wind and speed and balance just come naturally.”  He looked down at the rapier again and frowned, waving it around a few times.  “Sword fighting, not so much.”

“And thinking just comes naturally to humans, but that doesn’t mean that all of them are _good_ at it.”  Nicolas smiled a little at that—Ominis stood firm that it was a far better look for him.

“I guess when you put it that way…”

Nicolas still had doubts, and Ominis knew that no matter how much he desired it, he could not take his master’s feelings of inadequacy away.  But Nicolas was still young, and growing up around a powerful demon had both helped and hindered him.  All Ominis could do was to keep teaching his master, offering him any support he could.

“Well, now that we have your mindset in a better state, shall we continue?”

Nicolas looked up from the Nightingale and nodded, taking his starting stance again.  Ominis smiled, then lunged.

\---

Bill was impressed.

He’d wondered how far Mabel was willing to go to get Dipper back, and as the meeting between her and Gideon ended, he had his answer.  It was, in fact, quite far.  Especially considering that little spat he’d watched her and her rich little girlfriend have earlier in the week.

“ _He won’t call when I summon him_ ,” Gideon had said, “ _but maybe we can just summon your brother instead_.”

Mabel hadn’t liked that idea, which had led her to blurt out the words that would be her downfall.

“ _What about youkai?  Can you summon one of them?  I have feathers!_ ”

He’d decided, a few years back, not to put his master plan into action until Dipper’s immediate family had died.  After all, he’d been patient for a long time, and a few more decades wouldn’t hurt.  But if keeping his “promise” to Dipper was going to cause problems, well, he’d just have to abuse a few loopholes, wouldn’t he?

It would be a fun surprise!  Well, fun for him and his family at least.  …Most of his family.  Dipper might not be so happy, but he’d get over it.

“You wanted to see me, Dad?”

Nicolas had been showing marked improvement in his sword fighting, though he was still rather amateurish.  Still, Bill felt that it was enough.  If nothing else, he could still use all of his wind manipulating skills just fine.  One teenage tengu was more than enough for _this_.

“Sure did!  And have I got some interesting news for you!”  He relayed Gideon and Mabel’s plans, pleased to see Nicolas getting more and more agitated as he went on.  When feathers began to flutter to the floor, Bill knew that his son felt completely betrayed by his aunt.  “And to think, her little girlfriend tried so hard to leave you out of this!”

“Of course,” Nicolas muttered, his hands balled into fists.  Bill could sense the blood that spilled as his talons dug into his flesh.  “Pacifica is a decent human, at least.  But the rest of those _disgusting_ humans…!”

“They _are_ pretty stupid, I gotta say!  Thinking I wouldn’t find out about this… ha!”  He floated over to Nicolas, stopping before him and making sure his son was looking him in the eye.  “Listen close, kid.  I want you to let them summon you, and then I need you to do something for me.  Something very important.”

He could feel Nicolas’s conflicting emotions—apprehension and eagerness to please.  What a cute kid—Bill would have killed those tengu a thousand times over to get such a loyal child.

“Of course, Dad.  Anything.”

Bill laughed as he conjured an image in the air.  Nicolas regarded it curiously.

“This thing is hidden under the Mystery Shack.  I need you to find it and take it for me…”


	19. Chapter 19

Between the candles and the ornate sigil surrounding them, Mabel couldn’t help but be a little creeped out.  She’d hoped that she’d never be part of another summoning ever again, and yet, there she was, summoning her nephew with Gideon.  Worst of all, she only had herself to blame—this had been her idea, after all.

Gideon spoke words she didn’t understand, and the flames of the candles flared in response.  One by one, the golden light turned an unnatural, yet terribly familiar, blue.  Mabel’s heart beat wildly as the form of humanoid figure began to materialize.  With a burst of light and feathers, her nephew stood before her.  She didn’t know what concerned her more, the contempt in his eyes, or the sharp teeth that gleamed in the moonlight.

“Hello, Auntie,” he crooned, almost sickeningly sweetly.  Mabel immediately knew that she’d made a horrible mistake.  “Fancy meeting _you_ here.”

Gideon looked up from the book he’d been reading from and glanced from Mabel to Nicolas.  Well, she thought, so much for keeping their relationship a secret.

“Dipper Pines has a son?” he questioned, and Mabel was sure she liked the glint in his eyes far less than Nicolas’s disdain.  “Well I’ll be…”

“That’s Dipper Cipher,” Nicolas snapped, turning his glare on Gideon for just a moment before turning back to Mabel.  “Look, it was nice of you to give me a lift out here, but I really don’t have time to waste with a bunch of idiots like _you_.  So if you’ll excuse me—”

“I don’t think so,” Gideon cut off, smiling in that fake manner he’d perfected.  “You won’t be going anywhere.  You’ll be staying with us until your… _fathers_ come to save you.  And when they do, I’ll—”

“You’ll be dead where you stand if it comes to that!”  Nicolas giggled, and curtseyed mockingly.  “Now really, I have far more important things to be doing, so—  Ah!”

Mabel gasped as the summoning circle lit up, bringing Nicolas to his knees.  Her nephew looked just as shocked as she did, and a quick glance at Gideon proved that he was _not_.  He’d planned this?  Not even knowing exactly who he was dealing with?  He could have been dealing with a child or…

Or…

He _was_.  Gideon was using some kind of trap on a _child_ and it was all her fault.  Mabel grit her teeth to stop her eyes from welling up.  What had she done?  This was her _nephew_.  This was her twin brother’s _son_.  Dipper didn’t deserve to have his son hurt any more than this adopted goblin deserved to be hurt just because of his ties to Bill Cipher.

It finally hit her, _really_ hit her—watching Nicolas look frantically at the circle, trying to find a way to escape— _she was wrong_.  Dipper and Pacifica were right; this wasn’t her life or her decisions, and even if she disagreed with Dipper, she had no right to hurt anyone else.  Especially not a child.

But how could she stop now?  If she tried to destroy the summoning circle, Gideon would turn on her.  If Nicolas didn’t maim her first, that was.   Maybe Bill would come save his son?  The demon _did_ seem to truly care about his adopted son’s well-being.  Or maybe—

Maybe it wouldn’t matter, because with a great yell, the air began to whip furiously.  Mabel tried her best to shield her eyes, but she could still see the dried blood—which Gideon never specified the source of, but Mabel assumed it was chicken blood for her own peace of mind—flake off the grass and dirt.  It didn’t take long before the circle’s power broke, and Nicolas was quickly back on his feet.  Mabel was afraid she might get a personal taste of Nicolas’s talons, but much to her surprise, Nicolas only shot her a pointed glare and was gone before she could say a word.

“…Well, well.”  Unfortunately, Gideon still had plenty to say.  “I didn’t expect _that_.  Why didn’t you tell me that you had yourself a nephew?”

Mabel thought that was rather obvious and that Gideon was bright enough to realize that.

“Does it really matter?  Look, we should just forget this and—”

“I don’t think so.”  Mabel froze as she saw Gideon pull something familiar out of his pocket.  She didn’t think it could actually be the Mystic Amulet though.  She’d destroyed that!  “Tell me, my dear Mabel, what do you know about pixies?”

“They’re small and helpful and nice?” she guessed, though she didn’t really know.  Though if Gideon was bringing them up _now_ , she bet they weren’t like that at all.  In fact, if they were anything like faeries, they were probably pretty obnoxious.  But she was almost afraid to know how they related to that amulet.

“Small, yes.  Nice?  Mostly.  Helpful…”  He paused and held up the amulet, grinning in a way that made Mabel queasy.  “Not really.  They can use their magic to fix broken things, but they aren’t very generous to humans that they don’t deem _good_.  Apparently, I’m not good—can you imagine!  But here’s a secret from lil ol’ me to you.  If you pluck their wings off and threaten to squish them under your heel, they’ll do anything!  Even fix an amulet that’s been sitting in a thousand scattered pieces for almost a decade!”

“…What do you want?”

“Oh Mabel, don’t you worry!”  The amulet began to glow, and her eyes filled with terrified tears as her body began to move without her consent.  “I’ll take care of _everything_ you need to do from here on out...”

\---

Dipper had a very bad feeling.

That wasn’t exactly something new, but he was often justified in being paranoid.  The fact that he couldn’t find Bill was bad enough; the fact that he couldn’t reach his husband through their bond was just the cherry on the cake.  Bill was obviously still fine, but something was going on, and he just knew it wasn’t good.

“Mister Cipher.”  Dipper stopped his pacing in the halls as Ominis hurried to him, looking a touch frantic.  And for someone like Ominis, that might as well have meant he was having a breakdown.  “I cannot find Nicolas anywhere.  Has he told you or Master Cipher anything about going anywhere?”

Dipper knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Nicolas would never go anywhere without telling Ominis.

Unless Bill had told him not to.

“Come with me.”  He spun on his heel and headed towards his study, Ominis following obediently behind.  “I think if I can find Bill, we’ll find Nicolas too.”

“I hope so.”

Dipper didn’t need to see Ominis’s face to know that the crow was consumed with worry.  He certainly understood and empathized; even if Bill and Nicolas were alive, that didn’t mean things weren’t going poorly for them.  Or that they wouldn’t be so in the near future.  It was nerve-wrecking, but Dipper knew enough spells to locate _at least_ Nicolas.

‘ _You’d better have a good explanation for this, Bill._ ’

\---

It didn’t take long for Nicolas to reach the Mystery Shack, and breaking in was almost _too_ easy.  But Stan was an old man, and it was the middle of the night, so he wasn’t all that shocked that Stan would be too deeply asleep to realize there was a tengu breaking into his house.

Once inside, he found that the vending machine wasn’t in its normal spot, leading Nicolas to assume the door there lead to the machine his parents had come here initially to find.  And that, as he’d been told, was where he needed to start his search.  Somewhere under the shack was a document that his dad needed.  He just had to find it.

If only he knew exactly what he was looking for!

Bill had been vague, even by his own unique standards.  Nicolas loved his demonic father, he really did, but something had seemed _off_ about his request.  It was a document, but there were no details on what was written on it.  It needed to be found and destroyed, and it had to be Nicolas to do it; Bill couldn’t destroy it.  And oddest of all, neither Dipper nor Ominis could know about this.  Bill had assured him that he would take care of the excuses, but he _couldn’t_ tell Dipper about this.  It didn’t sit well with him, but he trusted his parents, so he had readily agreed.

No use worrying now, he supposed as he opened the door.  He would worry about it later.

Everything would work out…  Right?

\---

Bill watched his son look though all of the documents he could find, ripping them up just to be safe.  He didn’t care what Nicolas destroyed, but he also knew that the target wasn’t on the same level as the machine.

But Nicolas was smart; he’d find it.

Finally, he watched as Nicolas figured out how to make the old lift take him to the next floor.  The floor with the room that his failed protégée had all but worshipped him in.

He almost chuckled as Nicolas pulled a rather disgusted face at the state of decay in that room, unused for so very long.

But when Nicolas picked up the rolled piece of parchment that Bill remembered so very clearly?

_He laughed_.

Soon, he really _would_ be free.

\---

Nicolas unrolled the parchment and scanned the words.  He wasn’t expecting anything; he doubted any of the junk he’d ripped up was what he was looking for.  That was exactly why he did a double-take as he read the paper, signed by one Bill Cipher at the very end.

A contract, one that Bill couldn’t break.

_Bill Cipher can hurt no one in the Pines family, even if I am to die._

_This agreement will only be null and void if I am to break my end of the bargain and give his location to the Time Agency, or if another member of the Pines family is to willingly release Bill Cipher of his oath by destroying this contract._

There were technicalities and legalities that Nicolas didn’t quite understand, but those two statements were really all that he needed.  Stan’s brother had some kind of deal with Bill, it stated that Bill couldn’t harm anyone in the Pines family, and only another Pines could break it.

Did he really count?  Could he really break this contract?

…Did he really want to?

Nicolas clutched the parchment tighter, his eyes running over the words again and again.  Why?  Why did Bill want to break this?  And hadn’t he made a similar promise to Dipper?  What was his dad’s endgame?

Who did Bill want to hurt?

Rather than rip it like the others, Nicolas rolled it back up and made his way back to the lift.  He had to think.  Surely, there was a good reason for this.  Not that he cared about the humans that would be affected by the contract voiding, but wouldn’t it be conflicting with his papa’s contract?  How would that even work…?

By the time he was outside of the shack, it hit him.  He’d been told, back when he was getting advice for his own contract with Ominis, what his parents’ had consisted of.  Bill got to exist on the physical plane while Dipper got immortality from their bond, and in return, Bill wouldn’t destroyed the journals or hurt Dipper’s family or friends… _unless they threatened him first_.  And if the contract that said Bill couldn’t hurt the Pines _period_ were to be broken…

Mabel would be in big trouble.

‘ _But_ ,’ he told himself, ‘ _Dad says that demons don’t break promises, right?  I’m sure he’s made some sort of promise that will keep her safe.  Not that I care!  I just don’t want to see Pacifica sad, that’s all…_ ’

He thought back the the gaudy crow sweater his aunt had made him, even when he’d been more than a little rude to her.  Maybe she was misguided and impulsive, but she did at least seem to be trying to help her brother.  Nicolas didn’t want her to _die_ …

He was about to take to the skies, when he stopped abruptly by a floating figure materializing before him.   For the first time in his life, Nicolas wasn’t particularly happy to see his dad.

“Hey kid.  I see you haven’t ripped that dusty old thing up yet.  What are you waiting for, a written invitation?”

Also for the first time in his life, Nicolas found himself hit by a pang of fear at the sight of Bill.  He tried to shake it away—this was his father and he loved and trusted him!  He didn’t have to be afraid!

“Dad, I just thought—”

“Funny, I don’t remember asking you to think!”  Nicolas flinched, but Bill either didn’t notice or didn’t care.  Nicolas hoped it was the former.  “I just want you to do what I asked you to do.”

“If I do that, you can—”

“I _know_ what I can do.”  Normally Nicolas would be irritated by being cut off, but this was far from a normal situation.  Bill seemed colder than usual.  Almost angry?  Nicolas felt his hands being to shake.  He hated to disappoint his parents, but this didn’t seem right!  This was like betraying his papa!  “And so do you, seeing as you read that.  Now, destroy it.”

Nicolas looked down at the paper he held, then back to his dad.  He just couldn’t bring himself to do it, nor could he bring himself to believe that his father was as bad as everyone had said.  True, maybe to humanity he wasn’t all that hot, but Bill loved him and his papa and wouldn’t hurt them, right?

He gulped, and then summoned all of his courage to respond.

“And if I refuse?”

Bill tingeing red was really all the answer he needed.

“Listen, brat, if you don’t break that contract, I’ll—”

“You’ll _what_ , Bill?”

Nicolas had never been so happy to see his papa.  Spotting Ominis beside him, Nicolas ran over to them and all but threw himself at his partner.  He didn’t dare glance back at his parents, opting to bury his face in Ominis’s shoulder.

“Look Pine Tree, I know what you’re thinking, but if he doesn’t listen to me, then we’re all gonna regret it.”

“Regret _what_?”

Nicolas pulled away just enough to unroll the parchment and allowed Dipper to see it.  His papa’s eyes widened, and Bill groaned in frustration.  Rolling the paper back up, Nicolas quickly turned back to his familiar.

“Pine Tree, just listen.  I know what this looks like, but—”

“But it’s too late!”  The voice that interrupted Bill was one Nicolas had hoped to never hear again.  “Dipper Pines, Bill Cipher…  Today is the day I’ll have my revenge!”

Nicolas heard his papa gasp, and when he looked at the newcomer, he could see why.  Mabel was with the man, a green glow surrounding her, her movements jerky.  She was being controlled.

…Maybe things weren’t going to turn out okay after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I considered going back and making the early parts about Stanley/Stanford canon-compliant, but this ignores half the show anyway, so I left it alone. Maybe someday, if there ever seems to be a call for it.


End file.
